Hedonism and the rest

Away with hedonism and the rest.

The problem with being against everything is that you slide down the whirlpool of being against yourself; and there you often find the start of your whirlpool too. I have a mind trained to make unusual connections, the ones that art permits and reveals to its disciples. This kind of mind is pleased whenever the web of links shows anomalies, like clots, stretches, or a hiatus.

The book ‘Against Everything: On Dishonest Times‘ by Mark Greif (London-New York: Verso, 2016) is a collection of essays that present in a cool minded way an array of protests. With the voice of a young man and a scholar, the author carefully unfolds on the dissecting table the passions of age groups, style groups, class groups, and the philosophies whereupon our world of today is lingering.

I had to show how every commonplace thing might be a compromise. [p. xi]

Why is it that I thought that this is also a common place, a common knowledge? Is it because of a nearly compulsory critical thinking or because of catching a big shift (or rather its final twist) at its start? Didn’t we see the aesthetic hedonism (the idea that aesthetic value resides solely in a thing’s ability to give us pleasure) taking over within the establishment of consumerism (triumphant for everyone’s consent); these two together eliminating life as we knew it, to the extent that things must be explained as before and after? The author searches the origins of today’s hurtful structures in a depth of more than a century when putting forth the authors Thoreau and Flaubert, and the derailment of the notions of aestheticism and perfectionism.

In the nineteenth century, Flaubert and Thoreau foresaw mud where others saw a perfectly rewarding way of life. Today we’re up to our eyes in it. [p. 88]

This is included in one of the interim chapters sharing a common by-title ‘The meaning of life’. There are four such chapters. Here is where the specific leads to the general, a contemplative step back is taken for viewing the structure with the aim to word it.

Part III of this series is titled ‘Anaesthetic ideology’. Within a few pages, Plato and Aristotle are put on the table, in connection to experience and non-experience, or restriction of it, with mentioning of Socrates and Diogenes the Cynic and the concluding presence of Epicurus. The Epicurean bliss is then connected to the apatheia (no passion, or better not responding to the world’s mud) of Epictetus, in the quest for absolute freedom, in which case self-ending is an option. Both sides of anesthesia (non feeling) are referring to pain. They are like the operas of Richard Strauss where the happy parts are the same hysterical scream as the tragic parts (an amazing thing). That is because despite all, you want to be here.

The sad truth is that you still want to live in their world. It just somehow seems this world has changed to exile you. [p. 227]

Philosophy does help us find a position, see what we do and maybe why; see also why we feel guilty and whether there is anything we can do to improve all that.

The essays look at subjects partly of our lived youth and further, carrying a question mark (with a kind of sympathy or inevitable association?). Radiohead, punk, rap, a good historical account of the hipsters (had no idea), teenage bodies of grown-up women, the fitness (have tried and failed; my body is a stoic philosopher on this), reality tv, and some sides of American reality which we can read only with the cognition (I’m afraid).

Decomposing things in present tense and in writing is interesting indeed, and wise. Surely wiser than counting the number of ‘NOs’ you’ve said in practice.

P.S.1 Epictetus was a presence in my youth, through the writings of Jason Xenakis who followed the path of self-determination to the end. I recently came across this essay: The post-existentialist neo-stoicism of Jason Xenakis and the stoic theory of suicide. 

P.S.2 Whatever happened to aesthetic beauty as the condition where the content falls into the form without flaw (in the same way that the soul falls into the body in/through martial arts and such)?

The layers of a master thesis

To say that two subjects overlap, when you think about – or in – art is not slightly close to what is really happening. The same goes for writing. And then comes academic writing with the dispassionate voice, the precise language, and the rigorous documentation. The overlapping subjects, the layers, for example of a master thesis must be laid out in the light and left there to dry. Nothing must show affection, though you are advised to choose a theme that intrigues you, at the least. (no footnotes here)

So, here I am: before sorting out my notes for the SAR conference, or the Flusser symposium, I threw myself into this new set of layers, my master thesis. My theme (no title yet) includes research about a woman whose only voice left is her friends’ book, and a note in the similar album belonging to her sister. She is the daughter, wife, and friend, of historical figures, these being artists, writers, publishers, etc. Clues: she was Dutch, from Haarlem, lived from 1846 to 1930.

Starting from the Leiden University Library, which preserves her album amicorum, I then started looking in archives, first in the online ones in order to see what is there. Some of them, like the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), provide download and print options; as example, look at this image of a painting by Anna Veegens. Others, like the Leiden Archive (Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken), provide a detailed online inventory, which you can then physically access without complicated procedures. There, I found a photograph of my ‘Dora’, which I still have to double-check, as it is not sure it is really her picture. Yesterday, I found online her signature, on the wedding act of her daughter (in 1906). Further, I have planned a visit to the Haarlem archive, next week Tuesday. Today, I continue writing, and in the same time looking for, or requesting information. The thrill is growing.

In the meantime, I did appreciate a lot the keynote speech of Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes, at the SAR conference, and her thoughts about the ‘humility of the footnote’ in opposition to the ‘posturing’ of the footnote; this, among many other interesting thoughts and statements. It was a full and exciting speech this one. (footnote: illustration 2)

The forum, about ‘writing and the art school’, somehow focused on master thesis writing by art students, was equally interesting. I appreciated the simplicity of their conversation language, and the sense of inclusiveness in their approach to academic writing. Now, I go exercise my ‘voices’. (footnote: illustration 1)

[for the period of writing about the thesis, I am thinking of making the blog reach more private, by limiting authomatic publishing to my fb atelier page only]

Illustration 1: ‘Forum: Writing and the Art School’ with Kate Briggs and Daniela Cascella

 

Illustration 2: ‘Artists’ (Academic) ‘Writings in Academic, Artistic and Societal Force Fields’ by Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes

Writing and/in/about Art

International Conference on Artistic Research, The Hague 28-29 April 2016, University of the Arts The Hague & Leiden University, Venues: Royal Conservatoire and Royal Academy of Art, by SAR: Society for Artistic Research

It is more lexical than I thought.

The discussion is about writing and art, with the ‘in’ and ‘about’ art prevailing. Art described as a disruption to the organisation of the human life was a good start. Only the disruptions presented were surprisingly orderly. The ‘f***-up’ suggested (Alva Noe), and warmly embraced, as defining better the nature of disruption, was scarcely represented in the workshops; for example, as a rumour (Dean Hughes), and in the performative talks that followed, as sound-scapes (Salome Voegelin).

OK, more notes to decipher.

(And then day-2 to go through)

 

‘Art and Philosophy: Taking Aim at the Invention of Writing’ by Alva Noe

‘Writing about the Sound of Unicorns’ by Salome Voegelin

‘A Column of Air: Flickers/Writing/Painting’ by Redell Olsen

‘Exposion Writing: Radical Epistemology’ by Michael Schwab

 

Notebook from the symposium ‘Transcoding Flusser: Synthetic Thinking’

[only the notebook pages with both text and image]

No better way to pick it up where I left it: at the academy of visual arts in The Hague (KABK). It’s been some time since I posted anything on this blog; life is full, or the mind is empty. Whatever it is, or was, writing and drawing come to the surface, pinching me to go further. Am I not lucky?

What was discussed at the symposium could fill a number of posts. But I first want to see the exhibition at West (the gallery was also the organiser of the symposium in The Hague). Already on their website there is a lot of interesting material from the Flusser archive (Berlin) and from the symposium.

Only one note for now: Yes, it would help a lot the non-experts in philosophical terms, if the ‘model for energetic dialogue’ would include a walking-in-room kind of aspect. The openness about this of the initiators, who also convened & moderated the discussions, Dr. phil. Baruch Gottlieb & Steffi Winkler, is highly appreciated. Thanks!

Transcoding Flusser: Synthetic Thinking
International symposium: Friday 15 April 10.00-18.00h + Saturday 16 April 11.00-16.00h | Auditorium, Royal Academy of Art The Hague

Chekhov and writing as a job

A 1962 Greek edition of Chekhov’s short stories has been my company at my flash visits to Athens the previous year. It is paper bound, yellowed by the time and almost dismantled. I cannot hold the book too close while reading because its dusty smell gets stuck to my throat. But what a pleasure reading these stories, short indeed, that often end more abruptly than desired. The plot is simple, the dialogues insignificant; it is the irony and the hardship on the characters despite the somehow mellow style that makes them a delightful read. The look on people touches the basics: stupid, arrogant and after all hopeless as much as any nowadays book hero.This is a masterly styled expression of anti-life embellishment; my favorite.

Then during my last visit I fell on a biography of Chekhov written by the Russian/French writer Irène Némirovsky. It is a fantastic book, written as a literary text but giving a complete view of the life of Chekhov and his environment. Némirovsky wrote it less than 50 years after his death , so Chekhov was not yet a classic like now. What attracted me the most – accounted on my special sensitivity to this subject – is the professional life of Chekhov. It seems that it happened more often in the 19th century, to start up with writing and publishing only for securing one’s financial survival. Chekhov, just like Dickens, had a big burden to carry through his whole life: his family, parents included. He studied medicine and considered himself a doctor by profession. However, he was offering his medicinal help for free and depended on his writings for earning a living. The exact opposite  to Dickens in energy and self-confidence, he walked a long way to finally accept his identity as writer.

The short length of his stories, especially the early ones, is due to the fact that he had to deliver fast content for magazines. The -at that time- famous writer Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich was telling him “write less, starve if necessary”, with the idea that the quality of his work was affected by his writing frenzy; and it was. Of course Chekhov knew better about being hungry and did not follow the advice. His undistracted  job idea runs parallel to our contemporary perception expressed clearly in the statement of Jessica Ennis, the golden girl of the London Olympics, at one of her tv spots: “it is not about the atmosphere and the honor of the Olympics anymore; I have to get in the stadium and do my job”.

Chekhov also did his job. His art flourished under amateur conscience aligned to professional involvement. In the end what made him a writer was not the money he was earning  but the time and talent that he invested on his writings. Investment of time and talent (talent as a comfortable understanding of your language, skill and personal investment in one): that is what signifies a professional. Money comes after time and talent; to feed the family.

The memory of a Nebula – detail, embroidery, 2012

red-yellow-gone

The last weeks passed quickly, full of work, painting and writing, but also spaced out with the greyness of autumn. The leaves turned red, yellow and then went, blown away by the storm of last week. I like stormy weather but having to cycle through it I kind of damaged my bike. In the meantime, the day after the storm Mickey cycled for the first time without side wheels! I would not be surprised if stormy weather inspired him, since he was born in one of the heaviest storms that ever hit Holland.

Writing helps me articulate my thoughts; does painting help me articulate my world?

a stripe from the new work "collective upbringing", total size of painting 140x140cm