As a visual artist, I thought it was really interesting to read about some of the most important people in today's local art community. I thought it was really awesome that the galleries would have an exibit or two of well selling artists, but that there also seemed to be an emphasis on emerging and new artists.
Although I have yet to check out the "first Thurdays" gallery walk, I think it's an great idea, it makes the galleries seem a lot more accesable to the public, because it can definately be daunting to walk into a gallery and be the only one there and get that "I know you don't have enough money to buy a tenth of one of these pieces so what are you doing here." look from the assistant.
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Big Six
Something that really struck me while reading the article was that the art scene has been suffering ever since 9/11 and the fall of the economy. I was aware of both these issues, yet never connected them to the suffering art world! It makes a great deal of sense that it would result in that fashion though...I also believe that the increasing use of technology in place of everyday things is contributing to the fall of the art scene because people are allowing themselves to be destracted with their newly acquired "toys" while narrowing their creative minds and focusing solely on the procedures that the computer will allow them to make. My hope is that people will soon realize that technology can only make you so happy and take you so far, and them comes YOU making the effort to actually go somewhere and do something. Though technology can aid in inhancing art, it cannot create it and it certainly cannot appreciate it.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Golden Age on the Oily River?
I loved "The Real West Marginal Way" by Richard Hugo. Finally, an autobiographical account of the true, if subversive, virtues of the 'less civilized' versus the technological 'advantages' of urban living. I feel that all too often Romantics source fictional texts such as Huxley's Brave New World, Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, or even Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby to prove their beliefs as Truth, but as these are all works of fiction, the papers only carry merit among the philosophical or literary communities. Though these works are integral to opening people's eyes to the atrocities of humankind's infinite march of innovation, even Ovid's revolutionary "Four Ages," detailing the gradual downfall of man through subsequent evolutionary changes, cannot truly be considered a primary source in this ongoing debate. On one side of the argument are those supporting the growth of our technology, knowledge, and cultures to encourage further advancement to reach our full potential. Conversely, those arguing for Nature state that progress is regress; all progress eventually takes us further away from our true place on the planet by robbing us of our carefree innocence, aimless meandering, and sense of community, if only through shared common experiences. With each consecutive innovation comes the correlating disintegration of all peace and happiness, as well as, if not more importantly, the gradual annihilation of the delicate symbiotic relationship between ourselves and our natural environment. These novels have such a strong following, due, in part, to the extreme juxtaposition of the plentiful pastoral landscapes and unknowing happiness of the hunter-gatherer inhabitants with the filth, rot, and crime of a "civilized" world.
I find it interesting to note however that Hugo begins his essay with the poverty, filth, cultural anomalies, and social inequalities which describe the lower class community in which he spent his youth. He begins by describing the geography of the West Seattle area, and then chooses to contrast his hometown in which one "felt debasement [with its] loud belching steel mill, the oily, slow river, the immigrants hanging on to their old ways" instead of conforming to the American ideal, and the "Indians getting drunk" with the organized and decadent suburban lifestyle of West Seattle. Despite his critical description, Hugo admits that he felt a certain sense of the exotic about the many foreign immigrants in his hometown and even that "the community [...] always seemed beautiful." Understandably, to the curiosity and innocence of childhood, the cultural backwardness and physical dilapidation of their community is nothing compared to the "middle class paradise" of West Seattle where "the streets were paved, the homes elegant, and the girls far more desirable." The bloated dead bodies of animals floating lazily with the polluted brown swells of the river speak of disease, rot, and, perhaps, irrational practices of the uneducated mind. When confronted with such images on a regular bases, the affluence and technology of the suburbs would seem ideal. However, as argued by all of the regressionalists, the natural dirt and grime that 'civilized society' abhors is Real and True, untouched innocence of the Earth offering asylum from the sterile and meaningless existence of those swept up in the tide of progress. Those that live in the city abide by unspoken and unmentioned rules of their society, the days sectioned off in to school, work, and social time, all of which are activities bearing no relevance to ones immediate survival on Earth. It is here, of course, that other non-essential characteristics appear, such as the strong emphasis on proper manners, etiquette, and attire. People are individuals unto themselves and therefore personally responsible to uphold the social norms and maneuver within the ever tightening bars of society's expectations. Conversely, in a community struggling for survival, regardless of its diversity or seemingly disjointed communication, life experiences are always shared, whether it means struggling financially
to be cont
I find it interesting to note however that Hugo begins his essay with the poverty, filth, cultural anomalies, and social inequalities which describe the lower class community in which he spent his youth. He begins by describing the geography of the West Seattle area, and then chooses to contrast his hometown in which one "felt debasement [with its] loud belching steel mill, the oily, slow river, the immigrants hanging on to their old ways" instead of conforming to the American ideal, and the "Indians getting drunk" with the organized and decadent suburban lifestyle of West Seattle. Despite his critical description, Hugo admits that he felt a certain sense of the exotic about the many foreign immigrants in his hometown and even that "the community [...] always seemed beautiful." Understandably, to the curiosity and innocence of childhood, the cultural backwardness and physical dilapidation of their community is nothing compared to the "middle class paradise" of West Seattle where "the streets were paved, the homes elegant, and the girls far more desirable." The bloated dead bodies of animals floating lazily with the polluted brown swells of the river speak of disease, rot, and, perhaps, irrational practices of the uneducated mind. When confronted with such images on a regular bases, the affluence and technology of the suburbs would seem ideal. However, as argued by all of the regressionalists, the natural dirt and grime that 'civilized society' abhors is Real and True, untouched innocence of the Earth offering asylum from the sterile and meaningless existence of those swept up in the tide of progress. Those that live in the city abide by unspoken and unmentioned rules of their society, the days sectioned off in to school, work, and social time, all of which are activities bearing no relevance to ones immediate survival on Earth. It is here, of course, that other non-essential characteristics appear, such as the strong emphasis on proper manners, etiquette, and attire. People are individuals unto themselves and therefore personally responsible to uphold the social norms and maneuver within the ever tightening bars of society's expectations. Conversely, in a community struggling for survival, regardless of its diversity or seemingly disjointed communication, life experiences are always shared, whether it means struggling financially
to be cont
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Response: the real west marginal way
I found his explanation of where he came from very interesting, and it was clear how this essay correlated with our memoir project. I liked the poems as his way of describing what the people were like and how the environment affected their habits, routines and behavior. It was also interesting that, although he spent most of the essay concentrating on his observations of other people and their surroundings in west Seattle, I was able to gauge hoe this location shaped Hugo’s outlook and also his poetry.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Memoir (First Draft due Wednesday 9/19)
Great work today on the "I am from . . ." poems! (And particular thanks to Hannah and Romeo for reading theirs aloud in class.) Please save the poems for your portfolio.
Here's the memoir assignment for Wednesday:
Identify an event from your experience that you consider “life-changing.” It doesn’t matter whether the experience was funny, sad, embarrassing, infuriating, enlightening, profound, joyous, or silly. What matters is that it was significant to you in some way, and that it represents a turning point—as a result of that experience, something in you changed.
Revisit the experience in your imagination. Make notes about the sensory details you can recall. (Where were you? What specific sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and textures were part of the experience? What were some of the words spoken? etc.)
Freewrite a description your life-changing experience, including as many specific sensory details as possible to illustrate what happened.
Read what you’ve written and circle, underline, or otherwise mark the ideas that are most compelling, the examples that are most vivid, the word choices you like, the ideas you would like to expand on.
Using your freewrite as the basis, write a short personal narrative (1½ - 2 pages) describing your life-changing experience. Try to make your reader feel the way you do about the experience without telling your reader how to feel.
Read what you’ve written and evaluate:
· Does your narrative evoke the essence of the experience?
· Are your word choices vivid?
· Have you made use of telling sensory details?
Revise as needed.
Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Memoir, First Draft.”)
Here's the memoir assignment for Wednesday:
Identify an event from your experience that you consider “life-changing.” It doesn’t matter whether the experience was funny, sad, embarrassing, infuriating, enlightening, profound, joyous, or silly. What matters is that it was significant to you in some way, and that it represents a turning point—as a result of that experience, something in you changed.
Revisit the experience in your imagination. Make notes about the sensory details you can recall. (Where were you? What specific sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and textures were part of the experience? What were some of the words spoken? etc.)
Freewrite a description your life-changing experience, including as many specific sensory details as possible to illustrate what happened.
Read what you’ve written and circle, underline, or otherwise mark the ideas that are most compelling, the examples that are most vivid, the word choices you like, the ideas you would like to expand on.
Using your freewrite as the basis, write a short personal narrative (1½ - 2 pages) describing your life-changing experience. Try to make your reader feel the way you do about the experience without telling your reader how to feel.
Read what you’ve written and evaluate:
· Does your narrative evoke the essence of the experience?
· Are your word choices vivid?
· Have you made use of telling sensory details?
Revise as needed.
Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class. (Your paper should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, please include your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Memoir, First Draft.”)
MFA in English?
In the brief description of the author of this piece that preceeds the actual text, it mentioned that he recieved a BFA and an MFA for English at various institutes and that set me up for a good read. I assumed that it would at least be more intriguing than the reading assignment before this. It was more intriguing. But only slightly.
From the way he starts out in the beginnig, and probably just the title, you can assume this will be a recollection of experiences in a place and for the most part thats what it was. His life there growing up, little unique details about the place. Some of those detials even brought emotions and reactions out of me. Things like the bloated dogs with bags of bricks tied to them. JEEZE. But regardless of these things, a lot of the time I found myself asking "why is he writing this?", "what, more specifically, is this about?", "why am I reading this?" even. I think that it was the tone of the piece that made me feel this way.
His voice and fluency reminded me of a teacher who was just telling a story to kill time, on the fly, at the end of class. There was nothing incredibly striking about his word choice and there was no dramatic arc of any sort to the tone in his voice. And I kept thinking about his Master's degree in english and wondering why I wasn't more inthralled or even impressed by his writing.
I will say though that I didn't entirely dislike the piece. I did actually enjoy it and it shows what those little details can bring to a piece. Especially when I, having lived no where in the Northwest, can appreciate them but not relate to them.
From the way he starts out in the beginnig, and probably just the title, you can assume this will be a recollection of experiences in a place and for the most part thats what it was. His life there growing up, little unique details about the place. Some of those detials even brought emotions and reactions out of me. Things like the bloated dogs with bags of bricks tied to them. JEEZE. But regardless of these things, a lot of the time I found myself asking "why is he writing this?", "what, more specifically, is this about?", "why am I reading this?" even. I think that it was the tone of the piece that made me feel this way.
His voice and fluency reminded me of a teacher who was just telling a story to kill time, on the fly, at the end of class. There was nothing incredibly striking about his word choice and there was no dramatic arc of any sort to the tone in his voice. And I kept thinking about his Master's degree in english and wondering why I wasn't more inthralled or even impressed by his writing.
I will say though that I didn't entirely dislike the piece. I did actually enjoy it and it shows what those little details can bring to a piece. Especially when I, having lived no where in the Northwest, can appreciate them but not relate to them.
It is now my turn to be baffled on how to respond to a reading. I thought that the fact that he explained the history behind the poetry was helpful in understanding what the poems were about, but it was hard for me to concentrate on his words. I don't know exactly where he is talking about in the reading, but I've heard things about those places so I guess I had SOME concept on them. But yeah, I don't really know what exactly I'm supposed to say here...I guess I got a little bored reading it so I don't have much to say...LAME!
Richard Hugo!
At first I had a difficult time understanding the author's way of writing. However, reading further into the chapter, I began to adapt to Richard Hugo's style of poem writing and imagined a voice speaking. For some reason, I enjoyed reading Hugo's poems perhaps a lot more than any other that I have thus far in my lifetime. It is also a help that he decribed everything and the story behind each verse, painting a vivid picture of Seattle that time period; a big contrast to the last reading we had! I would say that my favorite parts of this reading was when he decribed how life was in Seattle at a time when immigration and poverty was everywhere.
Richard Hugo
After reading Richard Hugos poems really liked the way he described the environment around him the mood he set was really cool it reminded me of being in a abounded city especially the poem between the bridges i loved the line
“here a cracked brown hump
of knuckle caved a robbers skull.
That cut fruit is for Salvic booze.
Im not sure what it means but it paints a very descriptive image in my head. Another thing i like about this chapter is how it goes from poetry to story its a really cool transition and something i have never read before.
“here a cracked brown hump
of knuckle caved a robbers skull.
That cut fruit is for Salvic booze.
Im not sure what it means but it paints a very descriptive image in my head. Another thing i like about this chapter is how it goes from poetry to story its a really cool transition and something i have never read before.
"i hate making titles for things"
YAY for last minute posts!
This reading assignment really made me think of the importance of all that we're told to think about in class. In writing his autobiography, Richard Hugo lets the reader know the meaning and I guess the stories behind his poems. He really delves into his own history, his own life’s stories to produce his work. This puts into perspective why we’ll be writing our own memoirs, to, I guess in a way, know and understand our stories and try to use that to affect our art. I’ve kind of stated this before but this proves that the things that happen around us really does produce the end product in all of our chosen art forms. Another thing it helped me realize was important was how Chris always tells us to observe everything around us. Even the most minute detail in any situation can spark something big, like the fact that Greeks in his town didn’t trust the banks, so they kept all of their money at home. He used that one fact to produce the last stanza in his poem Between the Bridges.
*(side note…I’m in the library looking out of the window to the other side of the street. There’s a fire truck parked beside the building with four fire-dudes just leaning on the truck sippin’ on some Starbucks. Sorry….just looks funny, I thought I’d share =]
….ohh snap!!!
I just noticed that was kind of an observation! Shucks! ))
This was an interesting reading 1) because it was way easier to understand compared to the last one, 2) it really helped me to understand that Chris is trying to develop us as artist and not just talking all the time and 3) it was easier to understand compared to the last one.
In conclusion…
Listen to Chris
-romeo
This reading assignment really made me think of the importance of all that we're told to think about in class. In writing his autobiography, Richard Hugo lets the reader know the meaning and I guess the stories behind his poems. He really delves into his own history, his own life’s stories to produce his work. This puts into perspective why we’ll be writing our own memoirs, to, I guess in a way, know and understand our stories and try to use that to affect our art. I’ve kind of stated this before but this proves that the things that happen around us really does produce the end product in all of our chosen art forms. Another thing it helped me realize was important was how Chris always tells us to observe everything around us. Even the most minute detail in any situation can spark something big, like the fact that Greeks in his town didn’t trust the banks, so they kept all of their money at home. He used that one fact to produce the last stanza in his poem Between the Bridges.
*(side note…I’m in the library looking out of the window to the other side of the street. There’s a fire truck parked beside the building with four fire-dudes just leaning on the truck sippin’ on some Starbucks. Sorry….just looks funny, I thought I’d share =]
….ohh snap!!!
I just noticed that was kind of an observation! Shucks! ))
This was an interesting reading 1) because it was way easier to understand compared to the last one, 2) it really helped me to understand that Chris is trying to develop us as artist and not just talking all the time and 3) it was easier to understand compared to the last one.
In conclusion…
Listen to Chris
-romeo
the Real West Marginal Way
I enjoyed reading this one compared to the last one. I like how he tells you his life story the history behind the poetry what were his interpretations behind them. His poems bring you back to where he was during the great depression, like how he describes West Seattle in the old days, it was not a district but it is an ideal place to be. To be there and accepted there you had to be a better person. From what I’ve heard this day’s West Seattle is not anymore the ideal place to be anymore. It is amazing how so many things change from the last 40-60 years.
The Ways of Thinking.
I always enjoy seeing the different perspectives of writers. It's funny how two people can go the same place and have a different experience all together. I like the way he explains his neighborhood in the diff rent poems. However I think I would have preferred not to know about where the poems came from. It leaves it more open to interpretation if there is no explanation. On the other had the connection to our city is nice to see. I also like the way he paints his pictures. Very clear explanations of his thoughts on what people are doing around his neighborhood, private or public. I like the detail about what drinks people are making and what types of people are hanging out where. On a side note I have to agree with the author's notion that everything moves north. I always thought the same thing about the world.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
A Poet's Autobiography
In Hugo's poems, he represents himself through his environment. I found the poem "No Bells to Believe" very interesting, especially after reading the trains of thought that went into it. The tone of the poem seems to be drawn from the stereotypical Washington weather. "The wild rain rings... You must accept the ringing like the day."
Hugo seems to be saying that, just as life in Seattle doesn't stop for the rain, if you come upon troubled times, you must accept them as you do the rising and the setting of the sun, and continue to move on. He uses the reference of Mad Sam's death as a foil for this. His watery grave was homage to the mother of the drowned Indian boy who called him home for dinner every night for years after he had died.
Hugo seems to be saying that, just as life in Seattle doesn't stop for the rain, if you come upon troubled times, you must accept them as you do the rising and the setting of the sun, and continue to move on. He uses the reference of Mad Sam's death as a foil for this. His watery grave was homage to the mother of the drowned Indian boy who called him home for dinner every night for years after he had died.
The Real West Marginal Way: A Poets Autobiography
Ive never really liked poetry, but i liked his as well as the autobiography because I could understand it. What he wrote was what he meant it was like you had to decipher it. I could picture everything he meant as I read it and was familiar to where he was talking about. I liked how when he wrote he went to the river, it makes sense to me going to a place like that where it is peaceful, not in the crazy area he lived in at the time. He was still able to go there, reflect and write poetry about his home and life. He is a great writer/poet and I enjoyed reading it.
Richard Huuuuuugooooo
I really like this artical because it was written from a poet's point of view, and I like to write poems. Often we don't get to look into the poets mind directly and see what influenced a certiain poem, but from reading this chapter, I got to do that. It was really interesting to read about what old Seattle use to look like. It was also interesting to see how the Depression affected the people of Seattle during the 30's and 40's. Now I understand how a place can shape an artist and thier work. I was sad when Hugo mentioned the drowned dogs in the Duwamish River. It just showed how desperate people got when they were in poverty during the Depression. I also thought that Hugo's poem reflected Seattle perfectly during the time. It was nice to see a glimpse of Seattle through poetry, and through the mind of a poet.
-Stacy Gilbert, on Callan's posting name
-Stacy Gilbert, on Callan's posting name
The Real West Marginal Way
I, as well, recognized many of the places that Hugo mentioned and it was fun to be able to picture the places that the author was describing, and picture them vividly. There were some things that i found startling, like the drowning of the dogs furing the Great Depression due to a lack of funds for food and the fact that the boys fished through the porta-potty instead of the lake becase it made no difference. This author really painted a better picture of what living during the Depression was like because he used those personal ad very real images (much like the table of rice cookers and pictures of naked women in the wood-knots of the cabin walls). These images bring the reader to the setting, as if they are actually there and sharing a more intimate experience that if you were to simply relay the play-by-play of the story. The story reminded me of the time I went fishing on the Puget Sound with a former boyfriend of mine, and we couldnt catch any crabs, so we ended up coming home with a few useless cod and a dogfish that looked like a mini shark that wanted to eat us for dinner. For future advice, never catch dogfish...they dont taste so great on a burger.
The Real West Marginal Way
Though I do live in West Seattle... I did recognize a couple of places the author mentioned, but not all of them. At first it was confusing what the author was trying to do with this peice but then i realized that he would share experiences then showed the poem, or the other way around. It takes me a long time to really understand peotry but in this case, it came a little easier because he explained it. I could really feel like I was catually there in his childhood memories because he worded it with such detail and I really felt like I was there to witness it all. I really enjoyed this reading.
The Real West Marginal Way
I really enjoyed this autobiography! At times it was hard to follow because the writer would jump from subject to subject. It was very interesting to see how he translated his childhood memories into his poems. I loved all the strange little details he incorporated into his poems, like the part about the Greeks who distrusted banks and kept huge amounts of cash in their homes. The part about people killing their pets because they could not afford to feed them was extremely disturbing. I thought it was funny that’s he talks about West Seattle like It was the best place on earth, I’ve been to West Seattle and it alright but I would not say it’s one of the nicer places in Seattle, Queen Anne is my favorite. I have read many poems but I have never read poems and the author’s explanation at the same time, it’s so much easier to grasp what they were saying in their poems.
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