The Krieger List: I On the Arts' Top 2017

Hello readers! Since 2017's finally winding down, I'm sharing my favorite media of the past year. If it's got a link, it means I wrote about it. Enjoy!

(https://indigointeriorsblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/columbus-movie-spotlights-indiana-citys-modernism-with-a-soul-2/)

• Favorite Movie: Columbus, dir. Kogonada

For my full thoughts, you can check out my review at BUST.

"However, what separates how Columbus is shot from a Wes Anderson film is the overall extra-diegetic context of each shot. Specifically, with a movie like The Grand Budapest Hotel, the surroundings are lavish and eye-catching, to be sure, but are largely artificial and created solely for the purpose of making the movie. In Columbus, however, the buildings that we see through Richardson’s and Cho’s eyes are real buildings, and are a real part of history, and have meaning in people’s lives — meaning outside of the world of the movie. When the lights of the theater come back on, Columbus, Indiana, is a real place that you can find on a map — a place that you can visit and appreciate for yourself."

• Runner-Up: Lady Bird, dir. Greta Gerwig

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4925292/)

• Honorable Mentions: Call Me By Your Name, dir. Luca Guadagnino; The Florida Project, dir. Sean Baker; The Little Hours, dir. Jeff Baena; Wonder Woman, dir. Patty Jenkins; Thor: Ragnarok, dir. Taika Waititi; The Square, dir. Ruben Östlund

• (Bonus) Movies I Watched in 2017 For the First Time: Tramps, dir. Adam Leon (2016, released on Netflix in 2017); Moonlight, dir. Barry Jenkins (2016); Fargo, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen (1996); Inside Man, dir. Spike Lee (2006); Bull Durham, dir. Ron Shelton (1988); Jackie, dir. Pablo Larraín (2016)

(http://www.tvguide.com/news/marvelous-mrs-maisel-amy-sherman-palladino-gilmore-girls/)

• Favorite Television Series: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

I have a piece about this show that I hope gets published in January, but I won't be shy with my praise: this incredibly Jewish show is like having the opportunity to meet members of my family who have passed on--in the best way.

• Runner-Up: The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

(http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-handmaids-tale-on-the-set-20170502-story.html)

• Honorable Mentions: Dear White People (Netflix); Big Little Lies (HBO); The Good Place (NBC); Mindhunter (Netflix); Riverdale (CW); American Vandal (Netflix)

• Favorite Art Show: Biennale Arte 2017, Venice, Italy (info)

I wrote on my European blog about my trip to Venice, where I established my pretentious art-world credentials by visiting the Biennale.

• Runner-Up: Marisa Merz: The Sky is a Great Space, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

(https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2017/marisa-merz-the-sky-is-a-great-space/)

• Honorable Mentions: How to Live Together, Kunsthalle Wien; Georgia O'Keeffe, Kunstforum Wien; All Around Us. National Salon 2017. Applied Arts and Design, Kunsthalle Budapest (info)

(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KGZVTOE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

• Favorite Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman 

I interviewed the author about this emotional, wickedly funny book.

• Runner-Up: Theft by Finding, David Sedaris

(https://www.popmatters.com/david-sedaris-theft-by-finding-truth-or-elaboration-matters-not-2495391842.html)

• (Bonus) Favorite Books I Read in 2017 For the First Time: The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell (1996); To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis (1997); The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt (2013); Ghostwritten, David Mitchell (1999)

• Favorite Song: "Spaceship," Kesha

Kesha's comeback album is exuberant, cathartic, and fairly hums with moments of pure joy. However, it's the melancholy wistfulness of "Spaceship," the album's closer, that stands out. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar and possibly a banjo, Kesha sings about that inescapable feeling of not belonging, of feeling stranded in an unfamiliar place, waiting for the tide to turn to set things right.

(disclaimer: I listened to maybe ten 2017 albums in total, so I'm ranking songs)

• Runner-Up: "Everybody Knows," Sigrid (original by Leonard Cohen)

• Honorable Mentions: "The Shape of You," Ed Sheeran; "Delicate," Taylor Swift; "Secret NRG," Showtime Goma; "On My Side," Gordi

• (Bonus) Favorite Songs I Listened to in 2017 For the First Time: "Higher Love," Steve Winwood (1986); "Slow Motion," Phox (2014); "Name on a Matchbook," Springtime Carnivore (2014); "Alaska," Maggie Rogers (2016)

• (Bonus) Favorite Album Art: Melodrama, Lorde

(https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/melodrama/1211010237)