Memorable B-Sides: Hannah Tedesco’s “Big Bang Catastrophe” and “Leftovers”
by Emily Goff
The Memorable B-Sides series spotlights writing and art submitted to us that weren’t selected for print, but that are fantastic in their own right. Each introduction tells you why we returned to the piece. As a disclaimer — we aren’t experts, only fans offering possible interpretations.
“Big Bang Catastrophe”
Does everything have a beginning? Some people believe in a god. Some travel back in time by looking through the eyepiece of a telescope. I love how this work of art seems to explore and complicate the concept of origin itself by weaving elliptically about, well, an ellipse. The center seems irrelevant, for the outline of the shape, expanded further by the specks and the wiry hairs, has no end and no beginning. I notice dimension, however — almost a black hole within a galaxy, or perhaps an atom whose particles cannot be contained. According to NASA, “If we were to look at the Universe one second after the Big Bang, what we would see is a 10-billion degree sea of neutrons, protons, electrons, anti-electrons (positrons), photons, and neutrinos.” From this boiling sea of stuff came human beings. It’s uncanny and beautiful. And what do you make of that little somewhat signature-like scribble in the lower right-hand corner?
“Leftovers”
I tend to shy away from my own self in excess — too messy, raw, childish. But looking at this fascinating painting and considering its title, I’m reminded of something Louise Glück wrote: “We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” The chaos of color, texture, and direction is like something long-lost, residue one must continue to reckon with — a story is trying to emerge, yet it’s the process, the layering and connecting and embracing of seeming errors, that matters most. I love how the bold, thick strokes still appear wet.
