“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.”
— Albert Camus, The Rebel
We’ve been sitting with these words this month, not to overcomplicate things, but to clarify them. Camus wasn’t talking about childhood innocence, not exactly. He meant that deeper kind of remembering, the longing for a time when life felt simpler, when meaning didn’t need explaining. This is a feeling we almost always have at the beginning of Summer.
There’s a kind of quiet rebellion in this type of longing. A pushback against the chaos and absurdity of now. Not loud or angry, but creative. Soulful. Purposeful. In Camus’ view, the rebel isn’t just resisting what is, they’re reaching for what was, and shaping what could be.
That spirit runs through this issue. Starting with the luminous, dreamlike paintings of Mia Bergeron, whose swimming pools glow with the memory of summer nights and teenage recklessness. To the warm, nostalgic energy of Joy Hill Denver, a space that feels like your best friend’s living room in 1978, just with better pizza. These aren’t just aesthetic choices, they’re acts of remembering. Of rebuilding meaning through beauty, warmth, and community.
In a world that often feels uncertain, maybe this is our quiet resistance: seeking out spaces that feel like home, surrounding ourselves with art that reminds us who we were, and celebrating the people who keep creating despite it all.
Here’s to the rebels who lead with love, memory, and meaning.
Your neighbors,
Shaleen and Sam DeStefano