Summer Reading List | Megan Craig
Megan Craig, RGB, 2020. Acrylic on cement block wall, 20 X 15 feet (corner of Water and Brown Streets in New Haven, CT). Courtesy of the artist.
Summer Reading List | Megan Craig
For me, summer is a time to stop reading after clearing the floor of all the books, papers, and debris accumulated from the last semester of teaching. But for those who are longing for more pages of small type, here are some suggestions. I’m highlighting women I love and admire here, with texts that feel right for the blaze of summer.
Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit
Corita Kent and Jan Steward
I am not religious, but I love the bold prints and exuberant spirit of the artist, educator, and social justice advocate Corita Kent (1918 – 1986). This book is a collaboration between Kent and one of her students at Immaculate Heart College. Divided into sections titled “Beginning, Looking, Sources, Structure, Connect & Create, Tools & Techniques, Work Play, Celebration,” it leads you through various artistic exercises with simple instructions and ideas for elaboration. Great for an off day in the studio or just paging through for bits of wisdom and encouragement (and the poetry of the every day). Keep it in your bag with a couple of pens and paper for when you (or your kids) need something to do while waiting. I keep it both bedside and in the studio. A compelling (contemporary) companion to this book is Draw it With Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment (Paper Monument, 2012). I dream about working my way through both texts as if through a massive cookbook, making everything from scratch.
Megan Craig, Isolation Journal, ink on paper, 6 X 4 inches, 2021 (2 drawings a day since March 14, 2020 and counting...)
What is a Dog?
Chloe Shaw
If you know me, you know that I had many rogue dogs in my childhood and one beneficent dog now in my life who we adopted against all of my better judgment and whose early puppy days I am still trying to forget. Getting to know him has been a journey. But he is named Booker after the most majestic dog, and you will need to read my dear friend Chloe Shaw’s exquisite debut book to learn more about that. It’s the perfect summer read. For the full effect, start on a rainy day in a snug corner where you are free to cry. Equal parts heart-wrenching and life-affirming, Chloe tells the stories of her life through the lens of her beloved dogs. Once you begin, you won’t want to put it down. She has me (almost) convinced that dogs are the only company you truly need. She has me (truly) convinced that dogs are stardust and saltwater and everything in between. It’s the dog days, right? So this book is just exactly right.
Megan Craig, Birds and Ox, 2021. Gouache on paper, dimensions variable.
Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes: Theorizing Coalition Against Multiple Oppressions
María Lugones
María Lugones has been on my mind so much since she passed away last summer. This text is a collection of essays that reflect years of Lugones’s radical grassroots political work as an Argentine feminist, activist, and professor of Comparative Literature and women’s studies. She was a beautiful writer, and though the concepts are sometimes difficult, she develops her own language and imagery to anchor you in her prose. This is essential reading for anyone interested in feminism, intersectionality, and the history of colonialism, but it is also perfect reading for artists eager to picture another world. Feel free to begin with her iconic essay: “Playfulness, “World”-Travelling, and Loving Perception.”
Megan Craig, Ground, 2019, cornmeal, dimensions variable.
Megan Craig
Megan Craig is a multi-media artist and Associate Professor of Philosophy and Art at Stony Brook University. You can follow her work on Instagram @waterstreetprojects or online at www.megancraig.com
