MY CULTURAL LIFE
Rachel Donohue, author
Rachel Donohue is from Dublin where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She began writing short stories nine years ago and in 2017 was named the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year. Her first novel The Temple House Vanishing has just been published.
Film: Three Colours Red
I love all the films in this trilogy by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski, but Red is the final one and in my view the best. It was also his last film. Exploring the theme of fraternity (each film focuses on one of the ideals of the French Republic) it centres on the random meeting of a young model played by Irene Jacob and a cynical retired judge played by JeanLouis Trintignant. It is a dreamlike, compassionate film about accidents of fate, connections between strangers, regret, voyeurism and hope. It’s also beautifully shot with the colour red infusing every scene.
Artist: Carrie Mae Weems
I came across her Kitchen Table Series of photographs after listening to an interview she did with writer Tayari Jones. The pictures depict a woman’s interior life, while sitting at a table, sometimes alone, or with children and a partner. A man eats a lobster dinner, the woman looks at first like she is dutiful, caring for him, but then you study her face and think, maybe not. Power and who has power is a subtext to her work.
Art: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
The first time I ever came across this picture by George Seurat was while watching the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
One of the characters Cameron becomes transfixed in front of it and has a kind of existential breakdown. I think it’s one of the most parodied artworks ever, but no less good for that. Painted in the pointillist style of millions of tiny dots, it depicts a scene of Parisians at leisure on a Sunday. You feel like everyone is trapped, bored on their one day off and doomed.
Author: Shirley Jackson
We have Always Lived in the Castle is a tale of two unusual sisters Merricat and Constance Blackwood, one of whom may, or may not have murdered the rest of the family. Jackson had a troubled, reclusive life and was under appreciated for many years. She is now recognised as an American Gothic genius.
TV: Mad Men
Mad Men is a lesson in how to write character. Everyone is seriously, deeply flawed, wounded even. And what is most interesting is that they never really recover from their flaws. They just go on, wandering through social, cultural, political change with deep, unresolved issues.