90 newyork| october12–25, 2020
onceupona time,winsome,hopefulMichiganderSufjanStevensbecameone
of thefinest songwritersof hisgenerationbydelvingintothesweepingtopography
andsometimespeculiarlocalcultureofMiddleAmerica,tracingthefallofcitieslike Flint
andDetroitfromindustrial-eraprominenceon2003’sMichiganandrecountingunfor-
ge ttableyouthfulexperiencesinDecaturandtheMississippiPalisadeson2005’sIllinois.
Coupledwithhisbookishat tentiontohistory,Stevens’sfey vocalsandtweearrangements
suggestedanaccomplishedmultimediaclassproject, a whizkidwrappinghisheadaround
thefullnessofAmerica.Stevens’s “50StatesProject”endedabruptly, though;suchwasthe
restlessnessofhisinterests.Whenhewasn’t makingconceptalbumsaboutU.S.states,
Stevensmadedelicatebanjo-and-guitarsongsstuffedwithreligiousallegory,dabbledin
electronicsona collectionofcompositionsinspiredbytheChinesezo-
diac,anddishedouta seeminglyendlesstroveoforiginalChristmas
carolsandcovers.HehelpedrunAsthmaticKitty,theindielabelheco-
founded;producedforfriends;startedsupergroups;rana livelyTumblr
coveringeverythingfromfaithto popcultureandpolitics;andcreateda
film,album,andliveshowaboutthedecayingexpresswayjoining
DowntownBrooklyntoAstoria,Queens.His methodis everchanging,
pop / movies / tv
buthisdrivealwaysseemstobesimplyto
shareandappreciatebeauty.
Inmost of theseendeavors,wehaveexpe-
riencedStevensasanoverarchingcurating
eyethroughwhichthevastAmericaland-
scapeis ponderedalongsidepeople’s indi-
vidualjourneysacrossit.His catalogueis
a needlepointtapestry, a seriesofvibrant
strokesupclosethat revealsanintercon-
nectednessasyoustepbackandwhat look
likerandomshapesandcolorsbecomeiden-
tifiablepatterns.Still,themanhimselfcan
feelfaraway andunknowable.Fanspore
overlyricsanddispatchesforcluesabout
thelifeofthewriter,obsessingoverambi-
guitiesandtryingtoparseautobiographical
narrativesfromcleverbitsofstorytelling.
A Facebookpage titled“Is thisSufjanSte-
venssonggayorjust aboutGod?”studies
thevisceralphysicalityofStevens’ssongs
aboutfaithinboorishterms;thesedays,
cultivatinga senseofmysteryis seenasa
challengetotheenterprisinginternet citi-
zen,thoughit usedtobea concertedact of
creatingspacebetweenartistandaudience.
Sufjan Stevens
PHOTOGRAPH: ASTHMATIC KITTY RECORDS
The CULTURE PAGES
CRITICS
Craig Jenkins on The Ascension ... Alison Willmore on On the Rocks ...
Matt Zoller Seitz on The Good Lord Bird.
THEASCENSION
SUFJANSTEVENS.
ASTHMATICKITTY.
POP / CRAIG JENKINS
His Beautiful Despair
Sufjan Stevens’s latest represents both
an evolution and a return.