To commemorate the year that was, we invited an array of artists, writers, designers, and curators—from filmmaker Sam Green and musician Grant Hart to artist Shahryar Nashat and animator Miwa Matreyek—to share a list of the most noteworthy ideas, events, and objects they encountered in 2014.

Eyvind Kang is a composer and violist who has released a dozen albums of original music, including “The Narrow Garden” (Ipecac) and “Visible Breath” (Ideologic Organ). He often performs vocalist/composer Jessika Kenney, in many contexts including their works of austere beauty “Aestuarium” and “the Face of the Earth” (Ideologic 2011/12). As a violist he has worked extensively with Laurie Anderson and Bill Frisell, as well as presented solo works by Christian Wolff, Satyajit Ray and Hanne Darboven. He has also been a guest musician and arranger on hundreds of albums, including those by Sunn O))), Blonde Redhead, and Glass Candy.

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Qiu Miaojin, Last Words From Montmartre

The communication in these writings is so personal, you begin to feel greatly attached, and since this very feeling is described with precision in the text, the whole experience of reading seems to fold in on itself like a black hole. At a certain point I thought, “I don’t need any other book.” The author advises that the chapters can be read in any order. At first I bibliomanced my own order, but at the moment I prefer her order. Also, there are many serious insights, both spiritual and scientific, that wouldn’t necessarily arise outside the context of high emotion.

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Ostad Mohammad Reza Lotfi

This giant of Persian classical music departed on May 2. The Abu Ata concert, a duo with M.R. Shajarian, is one of the classic documents of this music. Towards the end, he seemed to take a spiritual turn; his compositions became concentrated on the state of trance.

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Alexander Grothendieck

Departed on November 14. At this point, due to the kind permission of his family, we may all begin to learn a little more of his work during his final period of seclusion. For more information: Grothendieck circle.

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Sepideh Meshki

There are so many amazing setar players, but she stood out in this performance with the aforementioned Ostad Lotfi. From the first moments on her solo album on the incredible new Iranian label, Kherad Art House, one falls into a kind of dream. But she balances the paradoxes in the sound of the setar with perfect precision while maintaining a kind of intense communicative empathy with the listener. Although the discursive quality of the phrasing could easily lead to a cascade, she manages to keep the clarity of the musical idea up front. Also a deft combination of original/traditional.

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Taku Unami at Issue Project Room, New York

What can I say about this gig? Nothing, because nothing really happened. Most of the people weren’t aware there was a performance going on. I was about to leave because I was so bored, and ran into a friend on the steps, who informed me of the presence of a rare bee in the back of the room. Curious, I returned inside. I had previously become aware of a kind of strange aura, but by now it was really unmistakable. Like a funny party, in which very little happened, but whose aura increased as time went by.

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Alain Badiou, Mathematics of the Transcendental

An invaluable resource for those of us trying to study category theory independently. Especially huge for musicians, since it helps open the door to studying Guerino Mazzola’s epic textbook, The Topos of Music.

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