Living Arrangements
On our profile in NYMag, and being "seen"
This week we were the subject of a very nice profile piece in New York Magazine’s Curbed.
Despite being trained performers and musicians, we’ve fought a lifelong tendency to leap into a deep, deep hole any time the spotlight swings our way. Has this gotten in our way? Yes!
Throughout our twenties, (one of) our brands of self sabotage was an ability to downplay feats of creativity and technical resourcefulness with a shrug. In the face of New York City’s impenetrable creative and economic challenges, our drag-on-a-dime mentality allowed us to spin fairy castles out of scotch tape and sawdust. I cannot tell you the number of times we toiled over (inspired!) creative work…only to meet people’s curiosity and recognition with an attitude that can be described as: “Oh! THIS old thing??
With frank admiration and envy, we have often noted the ability of our peers to do their work, put it (and themselves!) out there, and court the spotlight without apology. It’s…a work in progress over here.
Even though this cute little piece in Curbed is about US, not our work, it’s good practice in our resolution to not shy away when someone wants to listen to our perspective. The reactions we’ve received prove that this perspective is important. Whether it’s the (mostly) very nice feedback, or the fact that our setup is still incomprehensible to some people (in both positive and negative ways!), it’s a welcome sign that the conversations it raises are happening at the right time.
Just know that we’re restraining ourselves from swan diving into that familiar hole. We think we’ve outgrown that hiding place.
OUTAKES
The New York magazine photo editing team, with infinite patience, coached us through taking our own photographs for the piece. Andrew famously never takes photos of himself, and Amrita is famously un-photogenic. Add in a squirmy baby and you have a real slapstick recipe. Here are a few that did NOT make the cut:
And here are two we wish had :)
Our radio show Assisted Living was on hiatus this week while Amrita absconded to Miami for a few days. Amrita especially adores how, in Miami, everyone is “hot, but in a cheesy way.” You can enjoy last week’s tunes for an additional week, and as a bonus, here is a “hot, but cheesy” playlist from the archives.