21 pieces of art that changed my life
the story of my life through the things I've loved.
Seems the world is really into lists right now…new york times best book list, I’m looking at you.
About Time (2013)
This is my all time favourite movie, many of my life decisions are because of this movie as is my impression of adulthood…super healthy! Directed by Richard Curtis, who also directed Love, Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral!! The fact that this was made in 2013 is very pleasing to me…2013…what a time….
I wish I could say more about this movie but I think it’s so tender to my heart, trying to analyse it would almost ruin it? It has gotten me through some really rough days, and I never get sick of watching the amazing montage of Dónal Gleeson and Rachel McAdams getting the underground in London…it would almost convince me to move there….(dramatic suspense).
Looking for Alaska (2005)
It was hard to pick which John Green book to include on this list. I’ve read his entire works, multiple times, and yes, it did give me a manic pixie dream girl complex. In fact, most of the rest of this list can be explained by this man. But still, credit where credit is due, he tapped into a feeling. We can be cynical about it now but at the time, it was an incredibly earnest love. I really did feel seen by the weirdo intellectual characters who had like,, 2 friends and went on suburban adventures. John Green is no bad thing in my books.
20th Century Women (2016)
Would you believe this is the first time I ever saw the love of my life, Greta Gerwig? Damn, I cannot imagine life without her now. If John was everything when I was 13/14/15, Greta was everything when I was 17/18/19 (when I was 16, it was Cassandra Clare…weird moment). It was also my first entry into independent cinema, so whilst I would not call it the best movie I’ve ever seen, it changed my life. I realised that the Omniplex in Waterford wasn’t showing every movie being made and there was a whole world of feminist, black and white, witty, gross, awkward, New York, artsy movies out there! What a realisation to have in the middle of a pandemic! I spent the next six months feverishly watching ever single indie movie I could find on Netflix (which was hard work let me tell you). Four years later, I am the proud owner of a MUBI membership and IFI loyalty card. 20th Century Women gave me permission to make watching movies a full on hobby.
Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
Once at a cool bar with a cool college friend, I managed to talk to them about the Cocteau Twins for what felt like 45 minutes (but probably was actually like…2) despite having no idea who they were. Were they actually twins?? I have a feeling my friend knew I was bluffing and was just being nice but not so subtly reminding me that the Cocteau Twins were a band from the 80’s, 90’s; “Ohhhh of course, those Cocteau Twins!”. As soon as I got home, I listened to Heaven or Las Vegas and nearly shit myself with how good it was. And more importantly, I felt really cool that I was enjoying it. It made me feel mysterious and sexy and carefree…It’s the album I play when I want to romanticise my life and pretend I’m in a movie. It’s also the album I play whenever anyone asks me to play a song because it has the magical ability to shapeshift and match ANY vibe.
Dopesick (2021)
Not every piece of art will inspire you and change your life for the better. Sometimes the point of art is to hurt you, reveal a truth to you, expose cruelty. This is what Dopesick did to me. I’ve seen a lot of sad television in my life so I don’t know why this particularly always sticks out in my mind. Perhaps it just hits a little too close to home because the opioid crisis is still happening. I also find stories about addiction to be unbearably sad and painful. It’s a really tender tv show, filled with a lot of love and pain. It’s a frustrating but necessary watch and woke me up to the realities of corporate pharmaceutical companies. A year after I watched the show, my stepdad had emergency back surgery and was prescribed something similar to oxycontin afterwards which fucking terrified me. He only took half the dose he was prescribed which was more than enough (and he is no hero when it comes to taking painkillers) which scared me even more.
Bojack Horseman (2014-2020)
I’m rewatching this beautiful beast of a show for the third time at the moment and it only gets better the more you watch it. Bojack Horseman, I think, is my Breaking Bad. Look, I like to take cheap shots at Breaking Bad (for example here I write about how unhuman the show is ) but it definitely blew people’s minds the way Bojack Horseman blows my mind. It’s an incredibly moving story about addiction, mental illness and family trauma but it’s also a fantastic satire of consumer culture, modernity and the harm that advertising/corporations do to art. It’s so unique and funny and colourful and depressing and human. I fucking love it.
Lost in Translation (2003)
20th Century Women was the movie that made me realise that I could enjoy watching movies as a character trait but one year before that, I watched Lost in Translation, the first properly Good movie I ever saw. I actually fell in love while I watched this movie. My first love and I watched it on a bus from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, and it has a bittersweet quality to it now because the themes the movie explores would come to pass in our relationship. Right person, wrong time, loneliness, isolation etc. I still get misty eyed when I watch Scarlett Johansson drive away in that taxi…
Her (2013)
And this is the movie I became obsessed with after me and the aforementioned boy ended things. The universe is funny sometimes. I bawled my eyes out at Her, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to my own break-up and couldn’t bring myself to watch Lost in Translation because it reminded me too much of my ex. It was only about six months ago that I realised Spike Jones and Sofia Coppola were married the two movies are them trying to grapple with its ending. Huh.
A Little Life (2015)
I read this after my first year studying English Literature at university, which really killed all of my love for reading. Yanagihara is a controversial character but goddamn she can write a story that sucks you in. I absolutely devoured this book and it destroyed me. Yes, its melodramatic but that was an intentional decision. I am excited to re-read it soon and see how I feel on a second round, but any piece of art that can hold my attention for hours at a time, and leave me in ribbons is a good piece of art in my mind.
Just Kids (2010)
I have already written about how much I loved this book. Sometimes (most of the time) with art, its all about timing. I had been told to read this book multiple times for the past few years but always resisted, why? It wasn’t the right moment. And then, the aimless summer when I was broke in Spain and trying to write a novel, I read it and I felt like Patti was speaking directly to me. It gave me permission to be broke and jobless, to be in love and obsessed with love, to follow my childish curiosity. The effect that this book has had on me has not yet fully been realised but even now, I know it will change my life.
Perfect Days (2023)
Once again, timing was everything with this movie. It actually explores a lot of the same themes as About Time, appreciating daily life, the beauty of the mundane, the meaning of life is found in connection with others. Beautiful stuff. I find it difficult to write about both Perfect Days and About Time because I love them so much and it’s hard to articulate that feeling. The director, Wim Wenders, studied both medicine and philosophy at university and human needs is the primary focus of the film; it revolves around eating, bathing, shaving, working. And the philosophy behind daily life is unspoken but illustrated in a subtle and breathtaking way.
Pale Blue Eyes (1965)
This is one of my favourite songs of all time. I associate it with Leo because he has the most beautiful blue eyes and I started to really get into the Velvet Underground as we were falling in love in the spring. Listening to it always reminds me of trekking halfway across the city during sunset with my overnight bag and a bottle of wine in my hand, nearly skipping with excitement. And then the next morning, making the exact same route home during sunrise to drop off my stuff and get ready for work, thinking about how much I loved him, and how much I loved Dublin.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999 + 2012)
The book and movie are two entirely different experiences but I love them both dearly so I’m putting them together here. It is the quintessential bildungsroman, sad and beautiful. Also, I have a crush on Emma Watson.
Having a Coke with You (1960)
I’m ashamed to say I first learned about Frank O’Hara through Normal People, Connel gives Marianne a book of his poetry and it was just the most romantic and nerdy thing ever. This is such a beautiful poem and I would encourage you to go and read it right now. Since reading Funny Weather, and learning more about his life, I became obsessed with finding a book of O’Hara’s poems. None of the bookshops in Dublin had them nor in Barcelona, nor Galway or Valencia. Finally, in Madrid, with a grumpy, hungry entourage, I entered the most beautiful English language bookshop. I did my usual sconse and found nothing but on a whim decided to ask the hot cashier if they had his collection. What do you know? Yes they did. I am currently making my through this 216 page collection and its tough going but very rewarding.
Good Bones (2016)
When I was doing my research for this piece, I couldn’t believe that this poem was first published in 2016, and that I must have read it very soon after it came out. I thought it was one of those poems, like The Orange, that’s just always been around. The last line of this poem has inspired much of my own poetry (probably not a good thing haha) and just fills with such a sense of hope. In one of my first ever creative writing classes, my teacher read it out to the group and it just made me want to create something so timeless and comforting. I still read it out to people constantly, no matter how uncomfortable it makes them when I start reading poetry aloud at the club.
This lecture (2004)
Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favourite writers (and I think that the writers of Bojack Horseman were probably inspired by him as well). I love how he can make such an ordinary event seem exciting, romantic and sarcastic. I know ‘sarcastic’ isn’t strictly an emotion but read Vonnegut and you’ll see what I mean. This is just some great writing advice given by a very intelligent and witty guy. It was the gateway drug into watching lectures on the internet, something I continue to do every morning with my breakfast. Lame, I know, but it means I' always have a ‘theme’ to look out for in the day. For example, today I watched an analysis of Shrek through a marxist lens…if you know trolleybolley then you’ll understand why this is exciting.
Dreams; specifically the Irish Women in Harmony version (2020)
This was made during the pandemic, in order to raise money for a charity that supporting people who experienced domestic abuse. A really really sad side effect of the pandemic was all of the people who didn’t feel safe at home were now trapped there for an unknown amount of time. Hearing this song made me realise how lucky I was to be going through this terrifying time with a loving family, in a safe place. Leo has a Cranberries CD in his car and we always listen to this song when we drive around the backroads of West Cork. The two of us always end up crying and have to pull over and collect ourselves.
Fleabag (2016 - 2019)
I cannot believe I’ve only seen this show once because it takes up a ridiculous amount of my brain space constantly. I watched the entire thing in one sitting and was transfixed the entire time. The two most important projects I’ve worked on since I watched it have been inspired by Fleabag, Phoebe-Waller Bridge is so fucking funny, everything she touches is magic. I really want her and Sharon Horgan to make something together.
MoMa Exhibition ‘Between Two Rivers’ (2023)
I saw this exhibition when I went to New York with my mam last December. An-My Le is a photographer who is interested in the theatrical nature of violence and conflict. She spent months with people who were passionate about re-enacting battles and then spent years photographing the literal US military. The photos are indistinguishable from each other. I bought the exhibition poster, a beautiful photo of a waterfall with people enjoying the water as drones fly overhead. The exhibition was accompanied by Ocean Vuong, another amazing American-Vietnamese artist. I love going to art galleries so much but I’ll be the first to admit they can sometimes be rather exhausting to try and enjoy, this exhibition was different though. It was so inspiring, and it was really cool to share that inspiration with my mam. I truly believe that two people seeing an amazing piece of art together for the first time bonds them for life.
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Jean Basquiat (1988)
What a fucking incredible poem! It sends literal shivers down my spine every time I read it. I first read this poem when I was in a really shitty place, I was a teenager, I was fighting with my parents all the time, I was lonely, I didn’t eat enough, I didn’t think I was smart or funny yada yada, and this poem really made me realise how powerful I could be. Even just reading it made me feel so strong.
Technically, Basquiat illustrated her poem Life Doesn’t Frighten Me but I decided to put these two artists together. I have not yet familiarised myself fully with Basquiat’s work but I am making it a priority over the coming months because his influence keeps popping up in my life. This summer, I’ve been getting really into David Bowie (Modern Love is currently my favourite song by him. As with all artists I love, I tend to get really into them, so in one of my Bowie deep dives, I realised he is in a movie called Basquiat, where he plays Andy Warhol, wtf? Jeffrey Fucking Wright plays Basquiat, I am very excited to watch this movie, more as it comes on this one.
Funny Weather by Oliva Laing
Finally, I had to include the piece of art that inspired this article. This book was given to me by a friend for my 21st birthday and I didn’t end up reading it until May. My god this book really, really changed my life. It actually inspired me to take substack more seriously and totally redefined the way I thought we were allowed to talk about art. Laing has such love for the artists she writes about them, she full on gushes, she reveals personal anecdotes, she gets misty eyed and poetic. This is culture journalism at its finest because she truly expresses what art is capable of: changing a person’s life.
If you love art and love talking about art, read this book.
This list was INCREDIBLY difficult to write because there are so many AMAZING pieces of art that I’ve loved deeply that I couldn’t include. I chose these pieces because I genuinely think that without them, my life would have taken a different direction…but not all art HAS to do that! Other favourites that deserve honourable mentions are: The music of Leonard Cohen, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Gilmore Girls the tv show, Frances Bacon’s art, Only Ever Yours a book by the fantastic
(whose substack you should read, its far better than mine), and Blindboy Boatclub’s Podcast. I hope to write about all of these in the coming months.Until next Friday!
Libs xx
Thank you so much xxx