Something Beautiful

Caitlin Chan

Is there an ancient, bottomless crater in your existence? A nameless longing that feels both foreign and familiar? Do you ever feel the forbidden desire for a past or future life? Something Beautiful may be for you.

Episodes

  1. Two: "Darkness was once a familiar beast..."

    04/02/2025

    Two: "Darkness was once a familiar beast..."

    What does darkness feel like? How do art and science encounter the unknown? What can we learn from disaster? In episode two, we'll wander through these questions, guided by Rembrandt, the Scientific Revolution, the Titanic, Max Beckmann, Edward Hopper, and echolocation. Images: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bc_N-2ydHUPIAvOM1vUgMGZGaeKN-9UazejpFWZyRaQ/edit?usp=share_link Music by Calum Justice (@inkpistol) Cover art by Xander Somogyi (www.xandersomogyi.com) This episode is a Cross Country Media production.

    35 min
  2. One: Somewhere, a woman is weaving...

    02/13/2025

    One: Somewhere, a woman is weaving...

    How can we think about the "before" and "after" of a work of art? What is the work that images do? How are images haunted by their makers, their receivers, and the circumstances of their making? This episode asks these questions through a strange constellation of events: from the founding of the Roman Republic, to Renaissance era Flemish painting, to the photography of Francesca Woodman, to the Battle of Pavia.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Content warning: mentions of rape and sexual assault⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Music credits: Calum Justice (@inkpistol)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Cover art: Xander Somogyi (www.xandersomogyi.com)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This episode is a Cross Country Media production.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ References:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For more on the myth of Lucretia:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Livy’s account in The History of Rome, Book 1: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0151%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D58 Cassius Dio’s account in Roman History: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/2*.htmlFor more on the myth of Europa:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Professor Sharon Kinew’s beautiful essay on Titian’s The Rape of Europa: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/726864 https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/idea-of-europe/myths-of-europa-from-classical-antiquity-to-the-enlightenment/4471501752200ADB8EE5D9F1E0F01B76For more on Joos van Cleve’s Lucretia:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ https://www.famsf.org/artworks/lucretiaFor more on Harold Rosenberg:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Read The Tradition of the New, a collection of Rosenberg's essays from 1959. For more on Francesca Woodman:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Read Peggy Phelan’s essay, “Francesca Woodman’s Photography: Death and the Image One More Time” at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/339640 To see more of her work: https://woodmanfoundation.org/francesca/worksFor more on the Battle of Pavia tapestries:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ See https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/battle-pavia-tapestries Watch Thomas Campbell’s lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5QZo7Q5xHUFor more on the 1527 Sack of Rome:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/european-humanism/europe-wars-religion/a-prelude-wars-religion-sack-rome-1527

    37 min
  3. a haunted radio begins to play...

    TRAILER

    a haunted radio begins to play...

    will you be tuning in for more?

    1 min

Trailer

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About

Is there an ancient, bottomless crater in your existence? A nameless longing that feels both foreign and familiar? Do you ever feel the forbidden desire for a past or future life? Something Beautiful may be for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Caitlin Chan
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Caitlin Chan
  • Show Website
    Something Beautiful