Questions

Questions

1.    1.   Looking back on all of the artists we have looked at and discussed throughout the course of this class do you think that art does have an impact on the world?  One of the first discussions we had was regarding The Shock of the New video and how the art created during the war had an impact on the society and how people may have viewed the war.  After looking at all of the other artists and their many different pieces created it makes me think that maybe art does have an impact on the world because art does in fact have an impact on other artists ideas, and movements of art though different generations.  The way we look at art may have an impact on how we view the world in different ways.

  

2.     2.  A big part of this class was a project we did which took a text and translated, flipped it around, twisted the words up and maybe even used the N+7 method to create an entirely new text to read.  Another project we did related a little bit to this method in that we had to use one simple text and create new stories from it based on different interpretations, perspectives, and languages.  In what ways do these projects relate to one another?  How does the ability to interpret these simple texts in multiple different ways help us to analyze it better?  Doing these projects really opened my eyes to think about all the different styles of writing, and the different ways to create and read a simple poem or story.  We may read a poem one way and it may mean something, but then once its changed and things are added or taken out, it could mean a whole different idea.   

3.    3.   Compare some aspects from the story The Hearing Trumpet to some aspects of The Story of Morel.  What similarities and differences do you see between how the stories are written, the language used, the descriptions of setting, and events etc?  In The Hearing Trumpet the book was much of a dream like state and things seemed very magical and surreal.  I also got this feeling a little bit when reading the Morel book because of the way the main character describes things, but most importantly because of the state of mind he was in.  Another similarity I can make is the description on the bungalows that Marion lived in at the nursing home, and the descriptions of the museum in Morel.  The museum and nursing home can also be compared.  

Reading for Pain and Pleasure

The reading Poetry and Pleasure by Mac Low interested me the most because it really made me think about the literature, poems, and articles that I read and why I read them.  There are many different types of genres I like to read.  Poetry interests me when I can just read it to enjoy it, however when I have to analyze it that’s when I start to hate it.  Reading books for fun is more of what I enjoy doing with my free time.  I enjoy mystery, and fiction the most.  The point that Mac Low points out is that “artworks do make things happen, at the very least, pleasure and pain, and the kinds of pleasures and pains they may cause are hardly ever predictable” (Mac Low). 

            This made me think about the texts that I read and my reactions to things that happen.  Did I like the book because of the way it was written and the plot line so much that if it was written differently, or events altered then I would not like the book?  Or did I like the book because it was predicable and if I were the author I would have written it the same way?  These are the questions that come to mind when faced with the aspect of predictability of the reader, and the reaction to the text. 

            Usually when I start reading a book or any text for that matter I find myself forming my own thoughts or predictions of what I think will happen or what I think about the book almost immediately.  This is not always the best thing to do because then if the book doesn’t turn out the way I wanted it to I am left feeling left down and betrayed by the author resulting in disliking the book.  The way the book is written in the aspect of pain and pleasure also has a large effect on liking the book or not.  For example the book My Sisters Keeper is a perfect example of a book filled almost entirely with sorrow and pain, although it’s a touching story that doesn’t leave the reader depressed the whole time.  On the other hand poetry that I read for fun because its heart warming and silly is Shell Silverstein’s book Where The Sidewalk Ends.  As readers we read for pleasure, not that everything we read will make us feel that way but as long as the book is something we enjoy then its worth the pain and pleasure to read it.   

Fluxus Movement

Fluxus takes on a do-it-yourself type role that used simplicity over complexity. Like Dada before it, Fluxus included anti-commercialism and an anti art sensibility, disparaging the conventional market-driven art world in favor of an artist-centered creative practice. Fluxus differed from Dada in its richer set of aspirations, and the positive social and communitarian aspirations. 

In terms of an artistic approach, Fluxus artists preferred to work with whatever materials were at hand, and either created their own work or collaborated in the creation process with their colleagues.  For example in the Film about Ray Johnson we see that some of his art pieces have a three dimensional element by using cut out blocks or wood pieces and applying them in with the painting.    

Fluxus uses media in its pieces.  Creators like to see what happens when different media intersect. They use found and everyday objects, sounds, images, and texts to create new combinations of objects, sounds, images, and texts.  This is an example of the tactile box that was used by Fluxus contributors where there is a box filled with games, cards and other ideas and whoever has the box can use it in him or her own way.  This leads to the different interpretations that each person will have when using the box. 

Fluxus works are simple. The art is small, the texts are short, and the performances are brief which leads to much more open interpretation from the viewer.  Some of the films we watched in class were short and just showed short clips or flashes of certain things on the screen.  When I was watching some of the clips I had to think about what I was watching because there doesn’t seem to be a direct theme to relate about what’s going on, or what is the point, if there even is a point?    


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxus

Surrealism versus Oulipo

            After reading many of the works done by surrealist artists and Oulipo artists I am torn between which one I like the most because I have never read any of these works and so this is a new form of writing that I am still getting used to and working on interpreting.  When reading the book If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler I saw parts of it that were similar to the story Locus Solus because of the fact that there were story upon story upon story that made up one big story.  For me they both were hard to follow because I am used to reading more direct texts that have a major plot line and tell one main story, and with these I just couldn’t keep my focus on everything that was going on within the stories.     

            One aspect of the Oulipo that I really think is neat is the idea about limitations and writing the same story multiple times using different perspectives or settings, but all in all it is the same story.  I have never thought to write like this before, and I really enjoyed reading the stories by Queaneu.  This is one main difference between surrealism writing and the Oulipo writing.  This may sound like an oxymoron but using limitations makes me expand my creativity because I am limited in what I can use to write and therefore have to push myself as a writer. 

            The last difference between the two is that Oulipo incorporates the use of metafiction by directly addressing the reader.  The use of second person narration has an exceptional way of drawing in the reader (me or you), so that the reader begins to feel apart of the story, like the story was happening to me.  This is one aspect that greatly differs from surrealism.  I guess for me its easier for me to identify what the surrealist artwork/picture forms that we have looked at because then I the viewer can visually see the paintings and drawings and take in the ideas of surrealism.  On the other hand when reading the Oulipo works I have to spend some more time really reading the stories so I am aware of all the characters that are connected and how the stories relate to one another.        

Exercises in style

Bus Ride Home

Every Thursday evening I stand at the bus stop waiting for the 62 to 124^th Street to come pick me up and take me back home.  Its raining outside and my new jacket is getting wet because I forgot to being my umbrella today.  Boy is it windy out too; not only is my hair completely a mess, but it’s starting to get all frizzy and curly, which happens every time it rains.  5:28 and the bus arrives, on time today, thank goodness!  Door opens and I step inside, show the bus driver my ID and proceed to the back left side of the bus to find an open seat.  Due to the time of evening no open seats are left so I choose a seat next to this older women with grey, clearly permed hair, large glasses and a peacock broach on her sweater.  The next twenty minutes I spend reading my current read, which is Ninteen Minutes by Jody Piccoult.  The climax of the book is really pulling me in that I hardly notice the older lady getting up to leave mumbling “excuse me ma’am I am getting off here.”  I move aside and watch her walk off the bus and down the sidewalk.  I wonder where she is going, but wherever it is she it may take her a while, especially with that limp she has.  I wonder what happened to cause her limp, was she born that way, or did she fall?  I have an Aunt who fell and broke her hip so maybe that is what happened to her.  I glance down to the current page number and notice I am on page 422, which means only 33 more pages to go so I climb back into the text and finish the rest of my bus ride home.    

Older Women’s Ride Next to Me

 

Today was a very long day.  I awoke at 5:45 am to my face being licked by my cat Pearl.  She is a sweet little thing, and I enjoy her company, though not at 5:20 in the morning per say.  When I was a young girl I used to love sleeping in till ten or eleven in the morning but those days are over and for the past 10 years or so its rise and shine around five, six if I am lucky.  I blame my age and restlessness, at 75 years old I am pretty mobile, except for my darn limp.  I was eighteen years old when I broke my leg, well shattered it actually.  They had to put in a metal rod with all these pins in order to put my leg back together.  With eight kids and bills to pay my parents couldn’t afford to put me through physical therapy.  So I did the therapy the doctors told me to do, but needless to say it didn’t pay off and so here I am limping around.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not the kind of women to feel bad for myself.  I actually look at my limp as a unique attribute to who I am.  Besides, I get special treatment with handicap parking spots.  Things need to be done around the house today, baking, dishes, some grocery stopping, which reminds me I need to also stop at the bank on my way to the store.  I walk into the kitchen and look at the bus schedule.  The bank closes at six, and the bus ride there, plus my walking to the bank takes about 20 minutes and if the bus comes at 5:20pm then I will need to be at the bus stop around 5:15. Perfect I have my day all planned out, now its time to bake some of my homemade oatmeal cookies. 

…… 5:15pm

Walking out to the bus stop I notice how windy it is.  I didn’t plan for the wind with neither a scarf or gloves with me.  Winter is coming and I am not looking forward to it this year.  At the bus stop I notice a few others waiting, Sandra my neighbor, Bill her husband, and Chuck the war veteran.  We wave to each other and mention how windy it is.  The bus arrives at 5:20 and we enter one at a time.  I notice two seats open on the left and immediately take one, since I cannot stand for very long with my leg.  Once everyone is on the bus takes off.  I enjoy riding the bus because I get to see all the different people going to and from, some happy, some rude, and some just plain loud blasting that ipod music.  The next stop picks up a bunch of young students from school.  A young girl sits down beside me and I immediately smell her fresh perfume, or maybe it’s the scent of her hair from the products she puts in it to make it look nice.  I wish my hair still had the same brown color I used to have, but now its turning very grey.  I want to ask her what year in school she is and what she is studying, but she takes out a book right away and begins to read.  I try to see the title of the book, but cannot see that either.  My stop is coming up soon.  I pull the stop requested chord.  The girl doesn’t seem to notice I have to leave, which must mean she is really into her book. I wonder what the book I about?  I start to get up to leave and the girl doesn’t move.  “Excuse me ma’am I am getting off here.” I say to her, and she politely moves aside.  I wonder if she or anyone else on the bus noticed my limp, but I am sure they did because it’s not very easy to hide.  I begin my walk to the bank which is only two blocks away and then I will go to the grocery store to get milk, fruit, and some pasta.           

Hearing Trumpet Idea of Magic

             This week I am discussing the book we read entitled The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington.  This book was very different to read because of the way that Carrington narrates the book.  Her language seems very dreamlike and the why in which she describes things reminds of me talking to my grandma, which makes sense because the main character Marian is really old.  One of my favorite parts of the book is when Marian arrives at her new home- what the reader would think of as a nursing home.  However it’s much different than the usual nursing homes we would think of today.  That’s where the element of magic and make believe come into play.  The bungalows where the ladies stay are each a different shape. Within its high walls, "the main building was in fact a castle, surrounded by various pavilions with incongruous shapes. Pixielike dwellings shaped like toadstools, Swiss chalets, railway carriages, one or two ordinary bungalows, something shaped like a boot, another like what I took to be an outsize mummy."  Marian’s bungalow specifically is a lighthouse shaped tower.  There was little furniture in the room because most of it was painted onto the wall.  Therefore creating a one-dimensional living space.  This part of the book really shows the imagination of Carrington when creating this scene.  

            My response to this book was that it’s a very different read and at times I had a hard time following what was going on and if it was reality or fairytale.  Another aspect I noticed was that this book is not a chapter book; rather it is formed into one gigantic long story.  This form makes it a little bit harder to read because everything is condensed together instead of splitting it up into sections.  As a reader the magic element helped me to see the book as a fun read, and not a deep dark heavy read.  I think it creates a little bit of a fairytale for the reader because of her use of magic and imagination.              

Young Girls Desire

            Dark Spring by Unica Zurn has some very interesting themes that deal with surrealism, most specifically desire.  The young girl in the book wants to feel desired not only by her family, but also by other men.  This is weird because she is only 12 years old and already wants to feel desired by older men.  The reason for this is because she is neglected as a child and has no love by her parents or her brother.  She sees her father with other women, along with he mother with other men, and therefore knows that desire between a man and a woman exists and she wants to feel that for herself.

            Lonely and hurt, she then indulges in a world of sexual and masochistic fantasies, masturbating and discovering the pleasures of her own body as a means of coping with the pain of feeling unloved and insignificant. At one point in the narrative she dreams of being kidnapped by a group of “dark men” and tied to a black slab of marble, where she is subsequently gang-raped, her throat cut at the moment of sexual climax. She indulges in such fantasies throughout the work but continually acknowledges that imagined sensual pleasure does little, if anything, to fill her emotional vacancy: “She searches for something that would really complete her and she cannot find it. everything is false.”

            The young girl is trying to fulfill her desire with sexual pleasure, however this doesn’t give her the full desire everyone needs in life, which is to be loved. She is still empty inside and believes it’s her purpose to find something that will fill her up and complete her.  She finds that what completes her is her fantasy and love of the older man she sees at the pool.  By going to talk to him she is fulfilling her desire to meet him and have him give her attention.  Attention is her ultimate desire.  She feels complete that she was able to interact with someone she desires, unlike her father who she desired but he ignored her. 

            Another more unfortunate desire of hers is at the end of the novel when she wants to end her life.  It’s interesting because she is happy and feels complete after leaving the mans home, but then after finding out she can never go there again, or even out in the world again as he punishment, she immediately forgets her happiness and goes right into contemplating her death.  She doesn’t have it in her anymore to fight the battle of being lonely and undesired. 

           

            This book was enjoyable to read, and was very different from any book I have read before.  There are many more elements to this book that can be looked at as well.