On Second Thought

A Name and Rationale

Like many of us, I often feel that our world moves too fast and with too little nuance. Similarly, our discussion of art and performance is often surface-level, with everyone expected to instantly have a take, raise a flag, pick a tribe. I am not the first nor the most skilled communicator to identify this problem, and I have no radical solutions. However, I have started this blog in the hope that it can be one of many places for slow journalism, doubt, and connectivity.

Marina Abramović spoke of the ‘islands of time’ that she found in her durational and embodied work. Perhaps this blog can also function as an island of time, a small bastion among the rapids of rapidity, extending tenuous rope bridges to other foolhardy artists who wish to consider deeply.

I have decided to call this blog Second Thought, a title vibrating with a number of resonances for me. The idea of going with your second thought is often invoked by improvisors as a way to challenge habits or a mode of thinking, which is something I hope to occasionally offer here. A second thought could function as a sort of second opinion, with my writing as a collaborator that you can pull in at any time. And finally, I am of course referring to the equivocation ‘on second thought’, a refrain for those who are willing to be wrong, a celebration of reconsidering. I evoke this because I feel inexperienced as an art critic and out of practice as a dance writer; I hope to have many second thoughts, to discover errors, reassess beliefs, and build a body of work that represents an evolving artist. Second Thought will welcome equivocation over dogma.

Please feel free to join me on your terms and in your own time. These offerings are not intended as an additional chore for you to perform, but as an invitation that can be sought out when you feel compelled.

To query, contribute, or challenge, email me at reubenmd12@gmail.com.