Yeesh, tough time of year for me --many workthings ending, other workstuff starting. But.
Letting a theme (in this case, visual arts) percolate, while I'm otherwise occupied, often works for me, eventually, when I am wondering what to come up with about a topic that I haven't thought about as intensively as I have other issues. OK, so I've taught art history in cultural-history courses, but I can't draw a sled through snow. So what I can say to someone with talent?
Most likely you know pretty much what's out there from the lit/visual arts angle. I can't help but mention Bantock's Griffin-Sabine trilogy, but you probably know it. Hmm, eureka --
One of the most interesting novels of the last 1/4 of the last century, Perec's Vie: Mode d'Emploi (Life: A User's Manual) used Saul Steinberg's "Art of Living" line drawing (from a book of the same name) as a jumping off point for a story in 100 parts corresponding to 100 locations within a small apartment building. Everyone knows the Steinberg New Yorker cover of the US as seen from Manhattan, but the "Art of Living" drawing and its literary reflex in Perec is not all over the place on the internet, and hence might be worth calling attention to:
wow deshillholes, some amazing stuff you bring to the table!! I am so excited to check some of this stuff out! Thank you immensely for the insight and refreshing perspectives.
No prob. I am always looking for more stuff that expands my conceptual horizons, and find it helps me develop when I force myself to word things that might relate to that input. When I was 20 I told my favorite prof I was gonna know "everything" by 30, which was sublimely dumb as an actual aim -- but by pushing I got further than I would have otherwise. Comparative lit as a grad student, then taught interdisciplinary courses mixing and matching various fields. Everythingology, whatever -- add your own emoticon here.
Given the format of the blogcomment genre, I'll say something concise related to some entries, but if instead of leaving me to choose my own topics there's any topic you wanna 'discursify' about, speakout.
I forgot to mention that what art is about as a thing and a process is a central theme of Life: A User's Manual. 500 aquarelles of seashore scenes from around the world are planned to be made twice a month for 20 years, mailed to a puzzlemaker who lives in the apartment building, and then pasted on backings for cutting into complicated jigsaw puzzles to be reassembled. Of course, life is messy, and things get less neat than the plan foresaw...
you're so welcome :) such a fun scribble.. xx
ReplyDeleteYeesh, tough time of year for me --many workthings ending, other workstuff starting. But.
ReplyDeleteLetting a theme (in this case, visual arts) percolate, while I'm otherwise occupied, often works for me, eventually, when I am wondering what to come up with about a topic that I haven't thought about as intensively as I have other issues. OK, so I've taught art history in cultural-history courses, but I can't draw a sled through snow. So what I can say to someone with talent?
Most likely you know pretty much what's out there from the lit/visual arts angle. I can't help but mention Bantock's Griffin-Sabine trilogy, but you probably know it. Hmm, eureka --
One of the most interesting novels of the last 1/4 of the last century, Perec's Vie: Mode d'Emploi (Life: A User's Manual) used Saul Steinberg's "Art of Living" line drawing (from a book of the same name) as a jumping off point for a story in 100 parts corresponding to 100 locations within a small apartment building. Everyone knows the Steinberg New Yorker cover of the US as seen from Manhattan, but the "Art of Living" drawing and its literary reflex in Perec is not all over the place on the internet, and hence might be worth calling attention to:
http://todrownarose.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/steinbergperec.jpg
Back to work for me...
In some views, the URL in the comment gets truncated by blogger's setup. So in case it's needed, here's a minilink:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/lvwypo
wow deshillholes, some amazing stuff you bring to the table!! I am so excited to check some of this stuff out! Thank you immensely for the insight and refreshing perspectives.
ReplyDeleteNo prob. I am always looking for more stuff that expands my conceptual horizons, and find it helps me develop when I force myself to word things that might relate to that input. When I was 20 I told my favorite prof I was gonna know "everything" by 30, which was sublimely dumb as an actual aim -- but by pushing I got further than I would have otherwise. Comparative lit as a grad student, then taught interdisciplinary courses mixing and matching various fields. Everythingology, whatever -- add your own emoticon here.
ReplyDeleteGiven the format of the blogcomment genre, I'll say something concise related to some entries, but if instead of leaving me to choose my own topics there's any topic you wanna 'discursify' about, speakout.
I forgot to mention that what art is about as a thing and a process is a central theme of Life: A User's Manual. 500 aquarelles of seashore scenes from around the world are planned to be made twice a month for 20 years, mailed to a puzzlemaker who lives in the apartment building, and then pasted on backings for cutting into complicated jigsaw puzzles to be reassembled. Of course, life is messy, and things get less neat than the plan foresaw...