November 23, 2004
November 22, 2004
Gates of Paradise Plate 5
This is not a pleasant, or particularly "spiritual", image to have as wallpaper on one's computer monitor for a week. Showing the figure of a distraught naked man struggling to force his way out of a cave that completely surrounds and engulfs him, it's one of Blake's more claustrophobic images. The caption says, "He struggles into Life," though it could just as easily say, "He struggles against inevitable death and annihilation." The figure could be forcing his way out, or he could be in the process of being crushed.
But I suppose we should take the image in the spirit of the caption: this is a being struggling into, rather than out of, life. For Blake, this shows the peril and herculean labor involved of being born into consciousness, or into imagination. At times, it can feel like being suffocation--such as when the world calls you mad, when you are cut-off and isolated, because of your dedication to the life of the imagination. But it is a birthing process; it is the struggle of the plant to reach the surface; given time, the plant will break through seemingly impenetrable rock to reach the sunlight.
And here, as elsewhere in this book, Blake is writing about breaking out of the vegetative, into the imaginative, life. If we have the patience of the plant, we will transcend plant-like existence.
I also want to remark that Blake is indeed invoking the four elements, as I mentioned in my entry for plate 4. In plate 4, it was water; here it is earth. I realize now that he invokes the four elements in The First Book of Urizen as well; in fact, there are a couple plates (plate 12 and 14) in particular that seem to draw on the emblem design here.
How is my "spiritual reading" going? I still don't feel a strong narrative yet. But then emblem books had their own spiritual uses, emblem books such as Durer's which were so evocative and, in their own way, terrifying--and a great influence on Blake, who had prints by Durer tacked up on his workshop walls.
I need to think more about reading images as opposed to text. I love Blake because he marries the two in such interesting and unique ways, but here the image is clearly ascendant. The text, it is clear, is not going to help me much. I need to find the narrative in the visual rather than the textual here.
review: The Incredibles
I saw The Incredibles over the weekend and it was pretty incredible. It's a superhero animated film (and a parody of one) from Pixar, one of their best efforts. The story is very good, as is the voicing/acting, but the true superhero of the film is the technology. Pixar has created, in this film, some of the most incredible on-film computer generated landscape/dreamscape I've ever seen. The villain's hide-out is particularly delectable: I wanted to live there and, what's more, believed I could.
The message of the film was very positive (though perhaps a little too wholesome), encouraging group and family solidarity (and subverting the profit-mongering of major corporations) in doing good for the little guy and gal. The battle scenes might be a little too violent for the wee ones (or not soo wee ones such as me), though I think the anti-weapon message (the villain is obsessed, and enriched, by weapons-systems) is pretty clear.
I also liked the Jetson-esque, 1960s futurism of the over-all design of the film.
I did find it ironic, however, given the vast array of technology needed to make this film, that the conflict came down to the heroes with "special" born-with powers, against the villain who, without "special" powers, had to supplement his intelligence with technology. In this super-powered tech-heavy production technology seemed to be somewhat demonized. But then we're not supposed to see all the technology at work; we're supposed to be just let ourselves be carried away.
I, for one, will continue to look under the hood, especially when it's something that Disney is serving up.
(And the reviews for the game-version of The Incredibles are not good, which shows that, even when the same technology is available, the imagination needed to produce a really good film is not necessarily the same imagination needed to produce a really good game.)
reading at risk
It was great to see so many folks come out for the Reading at Risk panel discussion at the University of Maryland last week. Can we assume that all those folks are literary readers? If so, it would be a hopeful sign.
But then, I must ask, as many did during the discussion, what exactly do we mean by "literary reader"? What do we mean by "literature"? What do we mean by "reading"? These are contested (and even politicized) terms, to say the least. There seems to be something of a bias, on the part of the National Endowment for the Arts (author of the "Reading at Risk" report) that reading that is not "literary" is not really "reading" (excluding such things as creative non-fiction). And that if something read online does not lead one to read, say, Shakespeare (or one of those other dead white males), then it is not really reading. Which means that reading the "Reading at Risk" report is not really reading either (despite the creative efforts of Nick Montfort, one of the panelists, to characterize it, and other government reports, as literary).
But then I don't agree with those who dismiss the report because of its sometimes questionable methodology. There seemed to be a lot of quibbling, and some denial, going on amongst the panel and the audience. The general conclusions of the report are fairly convincing and stark: people in the United States (especially the young) don't read much, and what they do read is not particularly edifying, and this spells trouble for an informed electorate.
Three main follow-up points I would like to make:
1. The drop-off in literary reading may be do to too much, rather than too little, textuality going on. It would seem to me, given the fact that many more of us do our our work via computer, and are thus reading all the time, that the lack of literary reading is often due to reading fatigue. At least that is the case with me. Once I'm done with work (and finish blogging!), I don't want to curl up with a literary work, especially those that make me work too hard (this means you, Salman Rushdie). I grab genre fiction (science fiction, mysteries) if I grab anything book-like at all.
2. It is way too early in the game to say to dismiss online or digital writing as ersatz literature, at best. I would think the odds are pretty good that of the many new artforms present online, some of them will one day produce works of art we might eventually consider the equal of Oscar Wilde or Virginia Woolf.
3. I think we should make the effort to preserve literature in book format. The book is a marvelous invention and we should encourage folks to engage it as such, rather than guilting non-readers for not reading "literature." I also think that as a contemplative tool, and as a portal to virtual space, books are vital and necessary.
So yes let's champion digital media/arts, but let's not forget the blandishments of books!
My thanks to Matt Kirschenbaum and the Maryland Institute of Technology in the Humanities for organizing this event. And to the National Endowment for the Arts for their report and for caring.
And for those who'd like to actually reading "Reading at Risk", here's the URL:
November 16, 2004
Kinsey II
I forgot to mention that an odd thing about my experience of seeing the preview of the film Kinsey was that everyone was given a little "door prize" upon entering the theater: a set of refrigerator magnet words, such as in refrigerator poetry kits popular a few years back. None of the words are obscene, though many are suggestive. The bottom half, comprising its own refrigerator magnet, is a badge that says: "KINSEY--Let's talk about sex."
I find this a very strange marketing ploy to say the least, and one that trivializes the very serious themes in the film (and will all the more likely enrage those who find the film obscene and dangerous).
Nonetheless, hopeless pervert that I am, I will be playing with my magnet words and will post something on it at a later time.
review of Kinsey film: Dr. Laura does NOT approve
Last night I went to school (the University of Maryland) to see a free preview of the new film Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson as the ground-breaking sexologist. I found it to be a well-made biopic and certainly provocative in its presention of Kinsey's findings that sexuality was much more prevalent and various in the post-(WWII)war America than most Americans (particularly prudish, religious Americans) allowed. But perhaps more provocative is the fact that fifty years after Kinsey's first published his work it still raises howls of execration. Especially from, I imagine, the denizens of "Jesusland," the evangelicals who seem to have America (electorally-speaking) by the short-hairs.
In fact, I just--as I usually do when reviewing a film--did a Google search. Usually I immediately find an official film website. This time I could not find one on the first three pages of search results. Instead I found a nearly-unanimous condemnation of the film from conservative sources. "Kinsey Film Honors Sexual Pervert," reads one entry/headline. Another conservative commentator compares Kinsey to Nazi Dr. Joseph Mengele. Dr. Laura has also weighed in, condemning the film out of hand.
The film certainly depicts Kinsey as a flawed man, scientist and methologist, but this is not enough, apparently, for those who want Kinsey, and those perceived as advocates for the "sexual revolution," as incorrigible devils. Well, I suppose, as a queer man, I must be counted with the devils.
I do think we need to avoid the scientific hubris and secularist arrogance that Kinsey exhibited at times (according to the film), and allow devout Christians their beliefs (and their havens from the over-sexed quadrants of popular culture), but at the same time we need to leave space for non-violent, consensual sexual variety in our society. And the virulence of secularists, at this date and time, hardly even approaches that of those who wish to continue harmful sexual repression and then some.
All that said (which I did not intend to say before seeing the Google results), I enjoyed, and was moved by, the film. The cast is impressive, and Neeson, in particular is quite commanding, as is Laura Linney as Kinsey's wife "Mac." And on the theme of new technologies and film, one of the most moving parts of the film for me was one that was decidedly hi-tech. That was when talking heads of Kinsey survey participants are superimposed over a U.S. map-circuit board, to show the ubiquity of participation and sexual variety. Not only was it a kind of filmic representation of a database, it also showed both variety and solidarity in a single image.
I just hope the controversy peeks curiosity rather than provokes fear and that many people go to see the film, at the very least to acquaint themselves with a debate that has been raging for half-a-century (if not longer), despite what the current regime of prudes would have us believe.
Gates of Paradise Plate 4
Another week goes by. I'm not reading this book the way I originally proposed--each page as computer wallpaper for a 24-hour period--more like a week. That's fine, I guess. But it's important to specify how exactly I am reading.
I should also say that part of my reading experience is going back to the Blake Archive to compare the page I'm focusing on with the page that came before and after. Which is a very codex thing to do, I suppose, but not something I specified when I began my reading.
Finally, I want to note that I originally began this reading project as a way to reflect on technologically-enhanced spiritual reading/experience. I'm finding, so far, that this book is not really conducive to this project so far. As en emblem book, without a strong narrative--or without a narrative with strong religious/spiritual content--it's difficult to experience this book as one might approach typical "spiritual reading." Of course, I should probably define my terms ("spiritual" and "reading"). But I'm afraid if I attempted such definition, I'd be here all night.
Let me reflect a little on this plate, which I've been sitting with, and before, for a week. Maybe it is a spiritual experience after all, in that this plate is entitled "Water." Cheating a little, peaking ahead to the next plate--which is entitled "Earth"--I believe I see a pattern. The book proper beginning with the four elements. This is, actually, a spiritual experience for me at the moment, in that my spiritual expression lately has been "earth-based," or pagan, and a key part of pagan ritual (at least in the Celtic, or "Wiccan" tradition) is to begin by "casting the circle," by invoking the directions, the four main directions being associated with one of the four elements. In this case, in the tradition I have been following, water is associated with the West, earth with the East, fire with the South, air with the North. Traditionally the circle is cast beginning in the East, where the sun rises. Blake is beginning in the West, which is appropriate to his contrarian spirit, I suppose.
I will not push this much further at this point. It would be hard to argue that Blake, who gave a definitely negative spin to the Druidical, or the pagan, in his illuminated books (particularly Jerusalem) is some kind of neo-pagan. Still, it's an interesting thing to think about.
What more about this plate? The inscription under the title ("Water"): "Thou Waterest him with Tears." And the image: a muscular, naked man, not young, beardless but long haired, sitting on a rock at the base of a tree, while rain pours down upon him from above. He stretches forth his hands under the rain, as if he has just noticed it's raining, coming out of a revery.
Once again, the inscription and the image seem to be working at odds. The inscription is in pseudo-Biblical or religious language ("Thou", "Waterest him"), but there is nothing particularly religiously iconographic about the image. No religious symbols in the background; the figure unbearded (one of Blake's favorite iconographic signifiers as the bearded male). The figure is not in ecstasy (another iconographic signifier), or himself (or any other god figure) crying (as we see so often in the illuminated books).
In the previous plate I said I didn't know what to make of it because it was so surreal. In this plate, I don't know what to make of it because it's so un-surreal. I find it a well-designed emblem, but, as I said, the inscription kind of ruins it as an emblem. If I wanted to use it (and, as in previous plates, publishing information--"published by W Blake" etc.--appears on the plate, indicating that Blake wanted to offer it as a stand-alone imprint), I might ask that the inscription be covered over, leaving only the image, since it seems so odd.
Or then I might just wait until I read the whole book before making any such order. I still can't get any purchase (excuse the pun) on this book, but then I've learned by now that being without purchase on Blake is central to reading (or attempting to read) Blake.
November 10, 2004
existential game 19: virtual tattooing
Go to this site:
http://www.desiretattoo.com/custom%20gallery.htm
Pick out a tattoo you like.
Using a photo editing software program such as Photoshop, extract the tattoo from the body of the person in the photograph.
Using a photo editing software program such as Photoshop, tattoo yourself with the tattoo.
Publish an image of you with your new tattoo on your blog or website. Here's mine:
Gates of Paradise Plate 3
I've had this plate as my computer monitor wallpaper for more than a week. I'm pretty tired of it. There's not a lot to it. Though it certainly is surreal. It has a picture of a matronly woman, under a tree with hanging moss (or maybe it's a catalpa tree, with long, hanging seed pods) holding a baby in swaddling clothes against her lap as she reaches down and pulls (harvests) from the ground a carrot (or other root vegetable) with the face of another toddler. The inscription underneath the image says "I found him beneath a tree."
What to make of this? I already discussed, in my discussion of plate one, the idea of the vegetative state, the state of physical need contrasted with the life of imagination and spiritual freedom, that most of us live in far past our infancy. In plate one I thought the hybrid was a child and a worm, but even then I thought it looked more like a vegetable such as a carrot--I decided it was a worm because there was a caterpillar immediately above it. But now I've decided it's a carrot-child after all. That's certainly more illustrative of the vegetative state.
And here, in plate 3, we have the carrot-child again, being pulled from the ground by a mother-figure. She has the classical lineaments of most of Blake's figures, looking vaguely Roman. But frankly I don't what else to say. I enjoy it as I enjoy much surreal art, but as a narrative it's fairly confusing, being a hybrid of not only of human and vegetable, but also a hybrid of visual languages. I can at least conclude that the monstrous hybrids are not unique to the later Blake (such as one finds in Jerusalem), but begin here, early in Blake's career (1793).
I want to also mention that it has a publication date on this plate. It says: "Published 17 May 1793 by W Blake." This repeats information found on the frontispiece. Why Blake felt the need to repeat the information on what is in effect the first page of the book (it's numbered "1") I don't know at this point (OK, I just went to plate 4 and now I have a clue. All the plates have a publication date. This is, I assume, because this is an emblem book which means that some of the emblems are meant to be published separately.)
I think I definitely need to to do some research on emblem books, which is what this is. What was their function, visually and in terms of the print culture of this time? How do the plates work individually, and as a book/narrative? How do the images and text work together (do they?). And in its digital application--does the fact that this is an emblem book work better for my purposes, reading this book as a series of wallpaper backgrounds to my computer (for explanation of the game, go to existential game 16: Blakean new media spiritual exercise reading (October 21)? Since the plates are designed to stand alone, with little textual narrative, I think it does work better for my purposes. Though I do wish the pictures were prettier...
And now time to wallpaper plate 4. Hopefully it won't be another week before I blog about it.
transcription/textuality in a hippie haven
Moments of inscription/textuality at the hippie hostel/drum festival where I spent the weekend.
1. There was an amazing tattoo artist at the hostel. I've seen him work at festivals before and he's definitely an artist--a remarkable draftsman, and fine sense of color and design. And I saw his work on many of the folks at the festival, not the mention many examples of the work of other tattoo artists. So I read many texts that happened to be written in ink on various bodies. Many of them were purely visual in their design, but some were pictographic. I'm not sure about the reason why such ritual tattooing is so popular at such festivals. It might have something to do with the fact that so many of us have largely lost the sensual experience of writing, being for the most part digital (though that, of course, is also sensual, but not one that reflects that sensuality with the individuality signature of handwriting). So we allow ourselves to become texts, and allow it to be inscribed not only on our bodies but in our psyches in the form of pain. I'm sure that people more conversant with tattoo culture could say more interesting things about it. Perhaps after I get a tattoo myself I'll be able to wax eloquent on the subject.
2. This tattoo artist, by name Abraham, is also a Reiki master. In his workshop, he described Reiki (a Japanese form of energy work) as tattooing your aura. Then he gave us all Reiki attunements. I watched him with much curiosity because as part of the attunement, he seemed to be inscribing letters and symbols on the air (or rather the energy field, or aura, of the one getting the attunement). I asked him about it later and he showed me some of the symbols. They were pictographic symbols, some of them recognizably Japanese pictograms, some seemingly unassigned to any language systems. He also did different symbols for different people. So, in fact, he was reading the aura, then with concentrated chi energy, inscribing something appropriate to that reading to aura of the recipient. It was an interesting moment of reading/inscription/textuality.
3. Finally, I found the composting toilet/outhouse to be an interesting scene of inscription/textuality as well. There were things to write with and write on in the composting toilet, such as the "log" (get it?), or the compost-ition book (get it?). There was also a sort of moral handbook from L. Ron Hubbard, filled with 1950s pieties about being a good moral person and law-abiding citizen. There was lots of marginal comments in the book, some typical of what you might find on bathroom stalls, others more pointed and anti-authoritarian, which is not surprising given the number of hippie anarchist types passing through that hostel. I myself made an inscription in response to some diatribe against the supposed soul-killing crime of thievery. I wrote: "Consult Jean Genet on this subject." I nearly put a little star by one of the more unctuous statements, and then making my comment a footnote, but I resisted. But I did laugh at myself, thinking that even there, in a composting crapper in a hippie haven in the woods, I was habitually being the academic.
dawndancingdrumming
Spent a long weekend down in the woods of Georgia dancing and drumming till dawn. It was a gathering of fire-circle hippie-pagans called Forest Dance at a international youth hostel called "Hostel in the Forest," outside Brunswick, Georgia.
The hostel itself is pretty amazing, if you like crunchy-granola hippie hang-outs (I do). There are plenty of tree houses to sleep in and some amazing folks from all over staying and working there. It was a great place to be to escape the Slough of Despond many of us are in after the election.
It was also good medicine being with other folks who do ceremony in the forest, who devote themselves to the cultivation of love and compassion, and are not filled up with the junk most of us carry away from television and (alas) a lot of new media culture.
For two nights we kept it going until dawn, drumming and dancing around the sacred fire, practicing the earth's oldest religion. It was hard because, even though we were near the Florida border, it was doggone cold. The way I did it was to drum until I was too cold to drum anymore, then go dance around the fire until I thawed out, and then went back to drumming. I did some frame-drumming on my bodhran, and then sampled other drums as I found them. On the second morning, I was jamming on a big old milk jug (the kind that's about 3 and a half feet tall). It's a great way to greet the dawn, especially since struck in the right way it sounds like morning church bells.
We would go to bed around seven, sleep until 1, have brunch at 2, then while away the afternoon hanging out, boating/swimming on the lake, doing workshops. I did workshops on Reiki and partner massage, and met with a drumming affinity group. I also did a sweat ceremony, which culminated in jumping in a cold but refreshing lake. After dinner there was more hanging out around the "bardic fire" (right outside the dining hall), or walking the labyrinth recently built on the land. Then around midnight we'd get starting with the drumming again.
There is no television at the hostel, though there is one computer for the hostel office, and a library filled with a pretty good assortment of books. There was no clock anywhere either, if you don't count the clock in the kitchen which had it's hour and minute hands removed, leaving only a second hand, and an inscription which said "Only seconds remain..." After the first evening, I just left my watch in my tent and walked around blissfully unconcerned with the time like everybody else.
But even though (or perhaps because) the place was relatively machine free, there were still what I would call textual moments. Which I will describe in my next entry (above).