What inspired me in August?

Return to Rhythm

After a long summer break, I find myself slowly returning to rhythm. The days are getting shorter, the light a little softer, and there’s that familiar shift. From stillness to motion. It’s the beginning of a new work period.

What I love about this transition is that it’s not abrupt. It sneaks in. One idea here, one project there. And before you know it, you’re back in it. Building, making, observing.

This month’s newsletter is a reflection of that restart. A collection of things that moved me, sparked something or reminded me why I love doing this work.

Let’s begin.

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Architecture – Tadao Ando

While editing the final phase of my Japan project, a visual journey along the 1200 kilometre Buddhist pilgrimage route I cycled last year, I found myself returning to the work of Tadao Ando. On the art island of Naoshima, where concrete, light and silence meet, his architecture didn’t feel like design. It felt like presence.

What draws me to Ando’s work is his restraint. His spaces breathes. The way he shapes light, the tension between form and emptiness, spoke to me deeply, both as a photographer and a traveler.

Since then I’ve been reading more about him. He’s become one of my favourite architects, almost without me noticing.

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Visual Artist – Joëlle Snaith

Joëlle Snaith is a visual artist and designer based in London. She works in the realm of live visuals, performance and interaction design, exploring the intersection between sound and image, how music can be made visible. She’s also the long-time visual collaborator of one of my favourite musicians, Richie Hawtin, and a resident artist at FOLD, London.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with music-driven animation myself, so her work speaks to me more and more. I have great admiration for artists like her, who often remain in the background but shape the atmosphere just as much as the sound. People might go to a show for the music, but the visuals are what create the world around it.

She’s been developing Richie Hawtin’s visual language for years, combining light, motion and abstraction in ways that feel deeply immersive. Quiet, powerful work that deserves more attention.

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Books – Man Ray: Writings on Art

Lately I’ve been reading Man Ray: Writings on Art, edited by Jennifer Mundy. It’s a beautifully assembled collection that opens a direct line to one of the most fascinating minds of the 20th century. These aren’t essays in the traditional sense, but letters, reflections, fragments. Raw, honest and often unexpected.

On page 107 there’s a letter to Julian Levi in which Man Ray reflects on portrait commissions. He writes:

“I never give a commission on portrait sittings as it would be an endless affair, most of my sitters coming through personal contact, but I have sometimes expressed my gratitude with a free sitting and a couple of prints. However, Mr. Soby bought also a large Rayogram for eighty dollars, of which I enclose a cheque for twenty, to support American photography or whatever you like!”

Reading words like these is like stepping into another time. A time when the art world was smaller, looser, more personal. And yet, the same questions still echo: value, visibility, intention. I find it quietly inspiring.

Also, I really wouldn’t mind buying a Rayogram for eighty dollars.

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Inspiration – Rick Rubin

I’ve always found Rick Rubin to be one of the most quietly radical voices in creativity. His presence, his way of listening, his openness. there’s something deeply grounding about it. I follow his newsletter on Substack, which I highly recommend, and recently I came across a video that struck a chord.

Especially the opening lines stayed with me:

“I don’t look at the outside very much. I look inward and try to focus on what do I feel, what am I seeing, in the hopes that by sharing what’s going on in me it maybe resonates with someone else. I can’t predict what someone else would like, and I don’t think anybody can.”

This way of creating, from within and without second-guessing the audience, is something I try to remind myself of often. Inspiration isn’t something you find. It’s something you notice when you slow down enough to listen.

The video is worth watching in full.

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See you next month.

— Bastiaan