December

Dear friends,

2019’s final Miscellaneous — Athletics’ no-frills round-up of the cultural items that inspire us each month — was hand-selected by our good friend in London, Peter Chadwick, the creative mind behind Phaidon’s stunning survey of Brutalist architecture, This Brutal World, published in 2016. In 2018, Chadwick presented a talk and slideshow of his works at Athletics, converting any remaining skeptics in the studio to the aesthetic and political power of this often-misunderstood architecture style.

The architectural explorer writes: “I embrace the melancholy of Winter and what it offers. Hibernation, a cover of mist and darkness, time to isolate, think and make plans for the forthcoming year. Winter in London gives me the time and space to make work, explore the empty streets and discover without the distraction of warmth and sunlight.” We think there’s no better way to cap off an exciting year of cultural wanderings than this list, guest-curated by Peter Chadwick.

Stay tuned for more editions of Miscellaneous in the coming months.

Interested in contributing? Send us an email!

United Visual Arts & TRANSFORMER: A Rebirth Of Wonder @ 180 The Strand (until 12.08)
Mark Leckey @ Tate Britain (until 01.05)
Sterling Ruby @ Gagosian Kings Cross (until 12.14)

HyperNormalisation — Adam Curtis (2016)
Anima — Thom Yorke (2019)
Last Bloom — Floating Points (2019)

Nairn’s London — Ian Nairn, Penguin
Graphic Design Manual Principles and Practice — Armin Hofmann, Verlag Niggli AG
Typography — Emil Ruder, Verlag Niggli AG
Bonus: This Brutal World — Peter Chadwick, Phaidon

Selected Ambient Works 85 to 92 — Aphex Twin
Five Leaves Left — Nick Drake
Untrue — Burial

“Thirty thousand feet above the earth
It’s a beautiful thing
Everbody’s a beautiful thing
Mmm skyscraper I love you.”
— From “Mmm Skyscraper I Love You” by Underworld, 1994

In Solidarity,

Athletics

Header Image: Salk Institute by Peter Chadwick from This Brutal World (Phaidon, 2016)