| Author |
Topic  |
|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 17:49:30   
warning-- Im testing you all--
so if you miss replying you get a fail and not be included on my bright
spark list.
Lest
I be chastised for impiety I stand
with
eyes lowered, Malice expects
the
river bed to be known for dreaming
the
coming wet. Where no wash or foam
or
rocks full of grit try the prentice
who
will till the verbal plot—-a sin for which she
is
sure to go to hell, and supplicate. The marble
is
rock, "I'm harder than before"
you
say in settling; and finding level ground--
become
a calloused carbuncle in depiction.
Painting—here
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/reference_desk.jpg
|
| sisyphus082
USA
163 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 18:35:08 
Aunty,
I
enjoyed this poem, and think it works well with the painting. Some thoughts:
I
think there's a better way to lead into this . The first line just sounds
like something a bad poet would write. Just a feeling I have.
I
assume that Malice in L2 should not be capped and that the comma should
be a period.
Like
the strophe break between S1 and S2. Makes dreaming a pretty nice word
choice acutally.
Do
you want to repeat rocks twice here. That's something I always ask because
I'm not sure if the repetition helps here, especially since you take some
much time with the rock later in the write.
Verbal
plot seems like an abstract phrase.
Can
you phrase S3L2 a bit more succinctly. At least before supplicate. It seems
just a bit overly wordy.
I
wouldn't use the semicolon where you do. I think a comma would be fine
or even a period, but the semicolon is incorrect.
Hope
these thoughts help
-Sisyphus-

|
| sisyphus082
USA
163 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 18:35:10 
[accidental double post]
Edited
by - sisyphus082 on 07/14/2004 18:36:40 |
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 19:22:46 
love the painting. got a neo-hopper
feel that appeals. and a subject matter i can relate to. i always wear
red at the reference desk. thigh-highs are da bomb. ooooh-la-la-sasson!
bright
spark me, lady.

|
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 20:04:19 
I like the poem, Auntie...particularly
"who will till the verbal plot"...and actually like the painting for what
it captures but like lots of poems it is seriously flawed...the hands are
done fairly well but he needs to work big time on knees (not easy)...no
wonder SF women got it censored; they know legs don't bend that way...
and his perspective is way off in that one, too ( not necessarily in his
other work, tho)...still I like the painting and agree it is somewhat Hopper-like.
Would not pay a bunch for it tho.
Pat
Edited
by - Pat Jones on 07/14/2004 20:13:03
Edited
by - Pat Jones on 07/14/2004 20:13:58 |
| T.E.
Ballard
USA
252 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 20:37:03 
hell we are being tested, this
ought to be fun. My thoughts below, T
Lest
I be chastised for impiety I stand
with
eyes lowered, Malice expects a river bed
to
be known for dreaming
the
coming wet. Where no wash or foam
or
rocks full of grit try the prentice
who
will till the verbal plot—-a sin for which she
is
sure to go to hell, and supplicate. Marble
is
rock, "I'm harder than before"
you
say in settling; and finding level ground--
become
a calloused carbuncle in depiction.
the
marble break is my favorite, did you ever get your poor statue fixed?

|
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 20:45:54 
what the hell...if it's a test,
I'd like to see it read:
...is
rock, "I'm harder than before"
you
say in settling; and finding level ground--
become
as calloused in depiction.
Pat

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 22:24:25   
quote:
Aunty,
I
enjoyed this poem, and think it works well with the painting. Some thoughts:
I
think there's a better way to lead into this . The first line just sounds
like something a bad poet would write. Just a feeling I have.
slap
bang wallop-- oh boy i felt that one
I
assume that Malice in L2 should not be capped and that the comma should
be a period.
Like
the strophe break between S1 and S2. Makes dreaming a pretty nice word
choice acutally. yes --thanks
Do
you want to repeat rocks twice here. That's something I always ask because
I'm not sure if the repetition helps here, especially since you take some
much time with the rock later in the write.
yes,
and no I fell into the same trap I hate seeing in other works-- I wan marble
like rock in the hardness but marble to me is always a demigem cast in
a moment of time it's flaws exposed and admired, and it is soft to sculpt
and so lacks the rigid ness of rocks ¡V I'm waffling here!! Lucky
I know what I'm onaboutļ
Verbal
plot seems like an abstract phrase.
hmm
think of a field a plow and a seed crop
Can
you phrase S3L2 a bit more succinctly. At least before supplicate. It seems
just a bit overly wordy.
I
will try
I
wouldn't use the semicolon where you do. I think a comma would be fine
or even a period, but the semicolon is incorrect.
Hope
these thoughts help yes I will fix and yes
it all helped
mark
yourself plugged in :)
-Sisyphus-
 |
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/14/2004 : 22:41:21   
James here-- http://www.kenney-mencher.com/
Pat--
I’m with you-- hate the brush work But can see the explicitness in his
intentions
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/judges_chambers16x20.jpg
- look at the legs and the bum-- which is a metaphor in paint- his women
are all men in some respect, I think he has poofters on the brain-- no
offence but this one is so odd.{ the judge] He has to judge what this prick
in front of him is—and he has turned himself off- this one painting speaks
so loudly—but hanging in my house! No bloody way—
TEB—Marble
–yes one of the few words that sounds the picture it makes --
no
It’s just sitting. All its bits in a heap at its feet—poor little thing—thanks
all --
Edited
by - aunty on 07/14/2004 22:42:35 |
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 04:10:16 
Aunty - that painting needs a
blurb, not a poem; it looks like the cover of a vintage paperback (Lust
in the Library). I checked out the link to the artist’s other work,
and I found more “paperback paintings”.
I
like the free voice in the last stanza of your poem. In contrast, the opening
stanza sounds fussy & formal, like it’s clad in Victorian clothes.
Unbutton it and free it. (:
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/15/2004 04:17:03 |
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 06:58:43 
So whaddya want? Feedback on
the poem or the artwork? I'll start with the artwork. It's great! The colors
are fantastic, but the paint technique looks like one of those paint-by-numbers.
The woman is comical: love the way she holds her hair, seductive move,
going in for the kill. Her ploy: "Look I've got a run in my stockings."
But those are one ugly pair of legs - they look like men's legs - what's
with the muscles? And the shoes have gotta go. I'm betting she bought them
in Paris--you know those Parisiennes, always style over function and the
worst fitting shoes possible. The wedged toes look like they hurt. The
guy looks goofy. Even taking into account the perspective, his feet look
much smaller than hers.
Well...that
was fun. Your poem, Aunty, is good. I would put a period after "lowered".
Mia

|
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 07:55:22 
the more i look at his paintings,
the more convinced i am that he's revising hopper, or at least updating
the hopper catalog. hopper is probably my favorite modern painter (i also
like hockney a whole lot), so this guy mencher is doing something awfully
right--in my book. this is what good art does, brings new subjects to the
same old strokes, or old subjects new strokes. and aunty, i think if you
look over some more of mencher's work, you'll see that not all the women
have the same sort of manly characteristics that you've observed.
incidentally,
hopper's women were usually variations on his wife--if not his actual wife--and
she, like mencher's women, has very strong physical characteristics, sometimes
very attractive in a feminine manner--other times more masculine, particular
the expressions on her face and the attitude of her body.
as
for the "censorship," i could care less, really. i mean, apparently--or
so i'm assuming--i would have never even seen this guy's work if aunty
hadn't noticed that it had been "censored." but really, if something is
making you uncomfortable at work, you do have the right to complain and
have something done about it, especially when it comes to something as
subjective as art work (i'd probably just resign without complaint, and,
in fact, the whole abstract expressionist movement was designed to produce
non-threatening art that could be placed anywhere, especially office buildings
and schools). frankly, i think mencher's lucky, in this day and age, to
have his art work shown anywhere. in an office building, that's prime real
estate. he should be proud to have what's been kept to show. as for the
san francisco gallery, selection is not censorhip, especially when you're
trying not just to show, but to sell as well.
lastly,
mencher's comments about us bringing our own interpretations to his work,
sure, yea, no duh, but he brings much of the context to stimulate or reinforce
what we're going to see and potentially discuss. to say that the artwork
goes out there without what the artist put on the canvas is artistic bullshit
(quite similar to the idolistic bullshit i mentioned a week or so ago.
however, instead of a critic going to extraordinary lengths to praise the
work of a particularly artist, now we're faced with the artist nuzzling
up to the protective silence of a highly suspect and out-of-context qoute).
Edited
by - James on 07/15/2004 08:14:00 |
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 09:07:57 
I know what you're saying, James.
But I think there's a quietude in Hopper's work and an isolation surrounding
his people, which I don't see in Mencher's art. I really think Mencher
was more inspired by old paperbacks.
Here
are two scenes from the local library in Lusttown, USA. One is from the
early twenty-first century. The other is about fifty years earlier. It
almost looks like the same bookshelf in both pictures; and if that's not
the same man, then it could be father & son. The babe is different,
but the lust remains the same. (:
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/reference_desk.jpg
http://www.pulpcards.com/largeimg/pc-006.jpg
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/17/2004 06:57:26
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/17/2004 06:58:44 |
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 09:47:56 
isobel, amusing at that picture
is, i'm sure mencher's not working with that cover anywhere near his mind.
i don't always see quietude and isolation in hopper's work, though it's
one characteristic of the scenes he depicts. i also said that mencher was
revising hopper, if not at least updating hopper's work. in hopper's day
and age, i don't believe he would have been able to paint the subjects
mencher handles, and show them widely in america.

|
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 10:33:42 
Well, I'm half teasing, James.
I don't think Mencher had that exact paperback in mind, and I don't even
think the paperback scene depicts a library. ;-)
But
I meant what I said about seeing a resemblance to vintage paperback art
- that impression is based on the composition of the five or so paintings
I've seen by Mencher. I confess: I don't think Mencher is a good artist.
I don't mind that he chooses the same themes as paperback artists; what
bothers me is that the presentation is as poor and cheap as those artists'.
I can't see much difference in the quality of the work.

|
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 11:21:07 
mencher's quality is there, lest
i wouldn't be comparing him to hopper. take reference desk, for instance,
and its social commentary about the information age, how sexy and commodified
information has become, hence the distortion of the woman's knee and the
somewhat bewildered, slightly anxious jimmy stewart-like hat-holding gentleman
from a place long since gone. it's a throwback scene that comments on the
present age. a very interesting tactic and potential that isn't necessarily
present in his other works, at least the ones i've quickly perused on his
site. to me, the social commentary, along with the hopper-like quality
of the paintings, spells post-modern quality.
however,
i would say that his more overtly sexualized works derive from an attempt
to illustrate and perhaps, explain and normalize, sexual areas that may
be unfamiliar to the masses in ways that are neither erotic or pornographic,
but forces us in both of those directions. sexual situations that just
are. they have no apparent reason or resolution, and usually voyeuristic
in some fashion. again, that's post-modern quality.
the
woman about to smash the camera is another entirely interesting painting.
again, the voyeur behind her, sneaking in while she's about to commit a
brutal act to piece of modern machinery, signalling her disgust for the
so-called more truthful representations often attributed photographic image
that has come to dominate culture, perhaps displacing artists like mencher.
the world isn't illustrated anymore, we only have images of it. to me,
the painting is a kind of post-modern lament. if i had the bucks, i'd buy
some of this guy's stuff, particularly the woman smashing the camera and
the reference desk. who knows, give him a few more years and maybe he'll
strike a deal with target. then i'll be able to afford him.

|
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 11:28:18 
I get a kick out of this, so
I can't help posting one more:
Menscher's
babe and Miss Red Lips. (:
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/judges_chambers16x20.jpg
http://pulpcards.com/largeimg/pc-306.jpg
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/17/2004 06:59:44 |
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 11:28:29 
Ah, we're down to the discussion
of "art or crap". I'd say art and damn good art, too. If the execution
in question is flawed, that's one thing, but you'd have to convince me
why this looks cheap. Perhaps because of the tawdry subject matter, but
then again, it's so Americana. But that's not what appeals to me: This
painting invites a story, it's all there.
The
one that looks like a paperback cover is this one:
Even
though it looks "cheap" at first glance, the message is interesting.
Mia

|
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 11:41:49 
isobel, i think the difference
between those two pieces of art (yes, they're both art, but for entirely
different reasons), is perhaps the difference between a stylish hollywood
film from the thirties, forties or fifties, and a david lynch film or mini-series
or an independent product shown at sundance or home box office (sopranos).
i really don't think you can compare the two with any accuracy, but you
certainly can entertain us with them as contrasting figures.

|
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 12:08:33 
They all look like paperbacks
to me. Mencher's painting style is just as remindful of paperback art as
his figural compositions. In some ways I even think the paperbacks are
better, considering that the bodily proportions and the perspective in
that art are more correct.
But
I love reading your comments, James. Mencher NEEDS you as his critic. In
fact he needs you as his agent -- I think you could help sell his work
with your interesting and insightful analyses. (:
Paperback
art varies in style, BTW, and changes with the times. The older "sleaze"
is better. Here's the only cover I really love. Ain't she sweet. (:
http://www.pulpcards.com/largeimg/pc-xxxblondebaggage.jpg
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/17/2004 07:00:36 |
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 14:33:53 
isobel, i could probably bullshit
as much regarding the blonde baggage cover art. it would be different bullshit
though. and that's my point now. in mencher you see paperback covers (art),
i see a continuation of hopper (also art). and in the post-modern world,
there's no disagreement, only different points of view--many of them deadly.
we
agree that mencher's work is art because it reminds of us art. discussions
of quality, like religion, are basically irrelevant once we've established
our points of view.

|
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 16:56:11 
I'm a big tease, but I wasn't
kidding when I said your analyses were insightful. Unlike bad fiction or
poetry, "bad" art can actually become interesting with an enlightening
interpretation. And you're right, of course - my opinion that it's "bad"
is a matter of personal taste; a discussion of quality is more or less
irrelevant once we've established our points of view.
For
me, there's only one question that is relevant. Would I rather be
attacked by an evil Scooby, or an evil rose? ;-)
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/scooby_snack_10x16.jpg
http://pulpcards.com/largeimg/pc-003.jpg
Edited
by - Isobel on 07/17/2004 07:01:18 |
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 17:29:45   
Looks like you lot were having
fun while I was asleep—Mia that one you picked is another one that drives
me mad
the
perspective is way out – I'm a bugger for straight lines- and notice her
hands! male once more—although it could be just he has painted them to
size—
most
paintings the hands are made one size smaller to suit the eye—the hand
is the same size as the face—but looks odd that way on canvas-- ah well!--
another ode for the trash

|
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 17:37:16 
Yeah, but Aunty, did you notice
that the reflection of the couple isn't the same couple? The art is interesting.
Did you get a look at Varsity? Here's the link, I won't put the image here:
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/varsity16x20.jpg
Look
at the double shadows - it's all wrong. The guy doesn't have two wankers.
Either it's a real goof, or it's deliberate. But, stop! Don't throw out
this poem. I meant it, it's good.
Mia

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 17:42:10   
isobel! is the covers from you
book shelves! and! i just planted new roses-- scary stuff

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 17:47:29   
I think they were to represent
his lost balls Mia—but to be honest
I
fell apart laughing at that one -- he has the expression of
“who
the hell put that there”
I've
see terry look the same way when he stood in dog poo in the yard—
this
could be one of his ugly wimen on a bad hat day—lol PS
wingfoot
will be displeased when he sees the wings on this baby eh!
back
to the reflections-- I think he is trying for the older looking back as
how they were when young-- but the age gap is too close- which dosen't
let him off the hook for his line work being out--
Edited
by - aunty on 07/15/2004 17:51:29
Edited
by - aunty on 07/15/2004 17:58:25 |
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 17:52:41 
Since you keep pointing out the
hands which bug you, Aunty, Rodin was famous for sculpting large hands,
very much out of proportion. Study his "The Burghers of Calais". They were
symbolic for Rodin and for Frida Kahlo, as well.
www.theartcanvas.com/kahlo.self26.htm"
target="_blank">http://web.archive.org/web/20010618092630/www.theartcanvas.com/kahlo.self26.htm
As for Mencher, my favorite one is "After the Game." That one cracks
me up every time.
Mia

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 18:03:33   
links not working at this time--
but I think I remember the painting- yes he had an eye for detail and made
the most of it-- I edited my other message to you-- now I will go have
another look at after the game-- I cant remember them all --just the ones
with big dongers in the foreground

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 18:05:53   
hey! thats mine too-- I forgot
the title--
love
the look on her face lol

|
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 18:10:23 
Here's the link to "After the
Game" for the rest of those who want to be in the know:
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/catalog/after_the_game24x36.jpg
I
think Mencher has something, exploiting our sexuality. Right in your face
kind of art. I love it!
Mia

|
Isobel
717 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 18:24:43 
Aunty - I don't know what's scarier:
the evil rose, or Mia's pic with the nutty nude dude. I'm bound to have
nightmares tonight. (:
The
paperback covers come from a website. I laugh and laugh at them, but they're
only fun to look at on the Web. In reality they're pretty trashy. Here's
the site:
http://pulpcards.com/
Mia's
right about your poem, btw. It's not bad at all, and I think the last stanza
is very good. (:

|
| Ally
Meath
USA
1755 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 18:24:53  
Ooh, don't 86 this one, Aunty,
it's pretty cool, just needs little changes. I love interps of paintings
and like what and how the poem is saying about this one. Agree w/Isobel,
think it's the work 'lest', tho it does sound like 'lust'--the era (Victorian)
it evokes seems off from the painting's. Also agree with the punctuation
tweaks Sisy, Pat, others suggest. As for the 'verbal plots', the reader
gets the meaning, but also wonder, like Sisy, if it couldn't be improved
on, made less abstract. Hard to say. I'm guessing here, but feel you may
have intended an idea along nature of 'verbal titillations' vs 'visual
titillations'??, but if I'm off the mark...well.
Hmmm,
so interesting that you and some others feel Mencher's women are manly
looking. I don't see that, so much, myself. They appear boldly drawn, aggressively
stroked, but not masculine overall--weeeell, the one's facial expression,
the dark haired ruddy cheeked and nosed figure may look a little masculine,
now that it's mentioned, but I doubt I'd have come away with it on my own.
I
see strains of Hopper. Yes. A great discussion!
Albs
Sans
Sig. Signed, Sigless |
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 20:16:18 
This thread intrigues me...if
a poet posted work whose "execution" many deemed was poor but whose words
may or may not tell a story, they'd get creamed here. An artist whose art
may (or for some may not) conjure a story but whose drawing ability is
seriously flawed is forgiven because as he says, "I work in heavy impasto
and heavy innuendo". Give me a break. That does not make him a good artist.
That's like saying to a poet forget the study of the craft, the hard stuff...it's
okay if you don't know how to spell, your grammar is off...you are gifted,
have a story to tell...don't worry about the mechanics of writing.
I
do not believe his errors are intentional because they lend nothing to
his work.
Pat
I
like the poem, tho, Aunty...don't ditch it...it's far better executed than
the art. IMHO.
Edited
by - Pat Jones on 07/15/2004 20:18:42 |
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 20:42:06 
Pat, it's almost next to impossible
to compare the act of writing to art. They are completely two different
genres. Writing? Honestly is an elitist type of art because it requires
thinking, and engages a different part of the brain; whereas, art is as
you know highly subjective. I don't particularly think Frida Kahlos paintings
are that good if I were to judge them strictly on craft: composition, design,
perspective - often her colors are muddied. Her subject matter, however,
is a different story. I also don't think much of Mark Rothko's work. Art/painting/sculpting
is much more fickle.
Why
does Mencher appeal to me? For the same reason Vargas appeals to others,
and apparently for the same reason Hopper appeals to many, myself included.
But
writing, on the other hand, is something any literate person can do by
simply picking up a pen, or using a keyboard - it is often the lazy man's
art. And since anyone can write, the criteria has to be different: e.g.,
attention to grammar, punctuation, style...etc. The competition is increasingly
stringent to produce a better craft than the next writer. If we as readers
can come to a consensus that the writing sucks, then we have judged the
writing as such. Most of the time, I overlook the punctuation, grammar,
the technical stuff if the core of the poem has something to say because
the technical stuff can be ironed out. But I'm probably one of the few
who believes in content over form. There are exquisite poems that are written
well from the grammatical point, but how something is said and what's being
said is lacking.
Mia

|
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 20:52:35 
Writing? Honestly is an elitist
type of art because it requires thinking
Oh,
I see...and the other arts don't?
How
typical of me to have missed that. Rothko happens to be a favorite of mine
so it appears we must agree to disagree. Again. : )

|
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 20:55:33 
:-) Agree.
Rothko
is a rip off. But yes, I do mean that writing is a kind of elitist art,
philosophically, experientially speaking because it is so much more demanding.
Painting, sculpting, is a kind of "feel" your way through the eyes. The
eye "knows" if something is off.
Mia

|
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 21:18:54 
Beyond me how anyone could see
Rothko's paintings,...see the Rothko Chapel and say that...the sheer depth
of his work...that aside, it is also beyond me how anyone could imply that
painting, sculpting requires less thought than writing ...that any or all
of the arts are less demanding, intellectually or physically, than writing.
To read that on a poetry board is even more astounding to me, frankly.
That's like saying Rebecca plays concert violin/cello and paints for the
sheer fun of it, writes only when she's thinking, applying her intellect,
being serious.
Pat

|
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 21:25:52 
How did I know you would bring
up Rebecca? Intuition? Just because I mention the word "elitist" doesn't
demean anyone's ability. Rebecca also happens to write and write very well.
She's one of the rare artists who happens to have many talents, intellectually
and spatially.
I've
been to the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. That's where I got my first
impression of his work. Shall I worship it? But here's something to consider,
the full article, "The Mental Realist" is at this link: http://www.keithchandler.com/The%20Mental%20Realist%203.html
Art
is a mature human activity that creates and produces objects or events
intended to evoke specific and significant experiences in those expected
to observe them. (Chandler 2002b: 154)
On
the other hand, their extraordinarily innovative work makes perfect sense
when viewed not as a stage in the history of art but as a stage in the
evolvement of the human psyche, particularly in our ability to think symbolically,
i.e., in secondary semantics, and to form pre-linguistic conceptual structures.
I found support for this thesis in the work of psychologist Nicholas Humphrey.
Humphrey's principal evidence comes from a study made in the early 1970s
by Lorna Selfe of the art-work of a young autistic girl named Nadia. He
notes that,
Nadia,
born in Nottingham in 1967, was severely retarded in several respects .
By the age of six years she had still failed to develop any spoken language,
was socially unresponsive and physically clumsy. But already in her third
year she had begun to show an extraordinary drawing ability: suddenly starting
to produce line-drawings of animals and people, mostly from memory, with
quite uncanny photographic accuracy and graphic fluency. (Humphrey 2002:
2)
Mia

|
Pat
Jones
429 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 21:54:17 
Mia, I am an artist...not a good
one but a fair one. I did not make a living at it, but I did make a living
in the disability field for many years and no doubt have spent far more
time with savants and their families than most.
We
were speaking of artists, not savants...savants who have developmental
disablities while demonstrating remarkable skill in a narrow area can,
sadly, rarely use that particular skill in any productive way....the two
are vastly different.
I
leave this thread to Auntie...we've taken enough of her thunder.
Pat

|
mia
871 Posts |
Posted
- 07/15/2004 : 22:44:31 
I don't know, Pat. How do these
discussions get so twisted out of shape? I'm not talking just about idiot
savants, or autistic artists, I'm talking about the ability to create art
from different parts of the brain. The complexity to create art is not
the same as language skills. The cave man could paint long before he could
form words; symbolically we could say his paintings were used to communicate.
A different form of language I suppose.
I'm
a writer and an artist too, but I seriously have no illusions about becoming
an accomplished elitist at anything but the enjoyment of it, and appreciation
of those who do what they do well. I think that pretty much sums up my
attitude toward art, writing, poetry, expression in general so to take
issue with my stance/opinion of someone's work, including yours, seems
to be a defensible position. I must have said something wrong that doesn't
sit well with you.
Tomorrow,
most likely, I will forget most of the exchanges that have transpired.
I do take art seriously, and discussing its merits whether we agree or
not is stimulating; but, the duel nature of some these discussions leads
me to think that I'd rather write, produce art than talk about it. But
seriously, I just don't get why someone always feel like they have to be
right and someone has to be wrong. I don't care if someone is right or
wrong, as long as they're passionate about what they believe.
Aunty,
I'm handing this thread back to you. Love to have your opinion on my new
poem. Maybe I'll post it, maybe I won't.
Mia

|
James
416 Posts |
Posted
- 07/16/2004 : 06:43:07 
pat, i know very little about
drawing or painting. so please, when you say this guy's drawing ability
is seriously flawed, i'd like to know more. if possible. and are you saying
that because of these flaws, his work won't be coming to a target near
me?

|
| Mary
USA
2027 Posts |
Posted
- 07/17/2004 : 09:18:23 
Thanks, Isobel! My machine is
so fussy.
You
know, online we're always getting poems inspired by pictures, whereas on
mic we always get poems inspired by musicians. Just noting.
I
think pictures may be a good place for inspiration, but I'm not fond of
words about either pictures or music. It just seems a step down from the
original art. Not that any one art is better, or worse, or more or less
elite than others, but just that I think *describing* another art is less
than the original art, in general.
That
said, I think this poem stands on its own, and seeing the picture merely
enhances it. I think the poem goes off on its own, as it should.
I
like "river bed to be known for dreaming the coming wet"
"who
will till the verbal plot"
and
especially " 'I'm harder than before' you say in settling."
The
"frame" I think could be trimmed. I'd cut the first six words and start
with: "I stand with eyes lowered"
and
modify the final three words somehow. Maybe just change or eliminate "depiction."
Now,
what's my grade?

|
| aunty
Australia
2372 Posts |
Posted
- 07/17/2004 : 17:35:47   
ha! I knew you would get a pass
on all the naughty bits--
and
be unafeared to poke them with a fork-- did you get to the site and have
a look-- I just know there are one or two you could get your teeth into--
with a vengance too

|
| Kenney
Mencher
USA
1 Posts |
Posted
- 07/19/2004 : 17:16:49    
Hi Guys,
A
friend of mine sent me an e-mail about this thread and told me to check
out what you guys said about the poem and about my work.
I
sure do appreciate all of your comments, even the negative ones. I rarely
have the chance to hear or read uncensored honest commentary and I will
really think about some of the comments that were made.
Some
of them I do feel may be warranted. One of the things that I consistently
work on is my drawing.
If
any of you would like to be on my mailing list drop me a message and I'll
add you!
Kmencher@ohlone.edu
All
the best,
Kenney
KMencher@ohlone.edu
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/
or
http://online.ohlone.edu/art/kmencher/ |
|