Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Hazel 2
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Hazel: afterthoughts & what I read last night
Last night, I had my first Hazel: A Reading Series reading with the following readers: Me, Rita Sapunor, Claire Sherba, Dia Felix, Shruti Swamy and Clare Marie Myers. People filtered in throughout the reading and the readers sat on a small, yellow children's chair, so they were facing everyone else who sat on couches. For those sitting on the stairs, it felt like an arena since the reader was the lowest point in the room, which everyone else bouquet'd out from. The readers I invited were intentionally all women and they were encouraged to read something experimental, which some did and some didn't, but the point was to be open about our work, so we all succeeded. I think it went well. I heard good things from the people who came. Each of us readers chose one reader to follow in our place for Hazel 2, which will happen in early March.
Today, I've been reading Brecht and he wrote some things that inspired me in a critique of Luckacs' History and Class Consciousness or Theory of the Novel (I should know which, maybe its both). He redefines 'Realism' to be historically present and inventive in its means, not necessarily 'sensuous' a la Tolstoy or Balzac; not necessarily anything, since the situation determines the means. I have felt for a long time, since my old days of playing free-improvised piano in high school that nothing is necessarily the proper means and that it is best to do away with pre-existing narratives about what a piece of art should or shouldn't be. The proper means arises in the moment and it is a changing process, not a fixed landing point. I am glad that Hazel felt 'Real' in the way Brecht describes and my understanding of what it means.
This is what I nervously read:
Preface to "The Science of Fashion" (or) "The Fashion of Science"
by Erica Eller
Science, the study of interesting things, has never been so fashionable. Life as we know it has no significance without scientific explanations that seek to render the unknowable into dinner talk. Whiteness is a quality found in salt, snow, eyes, bones, and clouds, and each of these visual clues form a vast and elusive question mark, which we dare not ask, for fear of seeming ignorant. Underneath our impenetrability, roses are red, blood is red, and rubies are red, but books are only flipped through. If you decide to read this one, it might contain an answer, or it might not. The question always determines the answer, so if you ask why is snow white, and the book says because its in season, it may at least demonstrate that shifting trends slide dangerously through our senses every instant. The fashion of science is a very foolish area of study except when you consider that heat causes water to boil therefore fashion is alluring. The allure of fashion is deliciously axiomatic. Teenagers never can decide when to stop questioning their elders, so take this book and put it between you and them in order to shield your countenance from their critique. If they pose the question to you, "Why?" you can simply turn to page 156 for the answer, which of course is 'Z'. Never stifle teenagers with overly rational answers, because they are the chic ones of the household. It is best to encourage them to suspect you for lying to them so they might rebel and attempt to rewrite the book. Let them discover its secret on their own – the void. In fashion, each rebellion is productive because it brings about the newest trend. The object of this book is to subject scientific axioms to minor metamorphoses so they might become cute decorations to wear around our necks. 2000 of these decorations have been arranged into an appendix at the back of the book. You may be tempted to copy their designs, but be warned that plagiarized ideas are never as good as the higher priced original. The best selling modern authors have each been consulted about the surface appeal of this book, and they all agreed that it was so simple the public would want to understand it, but that it would remain mysterious enough to ensure that only scientists would accurately classify it as Genus: Empty and Species: Fashion. Each scientist has admitted to a host of flawed assumptions, therefore we best selling authors doubt the validity of their categories. Regardless, we thank them for their reputation. The cut out portions of this book were merely substantive, but since you might find useful hints and additions to be compelling, we saved them for the 2nd 3rd and 4th editions, to be published over the coming years, with variable release dates, so the press will stay on their toes. Our unparalleled success has been repeatedly touted by our PR reps who designed fictive statistics to back our claims. Since the year 2000, a trillion copies have sold, which is incontrovertible proof of this book's necessity, and it has induced the author into a state of bliss so profound it surpasses the effects of his or her morphine addiction. Thus, this book is the antidote to all scientific claims, and yet, it subsumes science into its auspice, since, as the author has tirelessly instructed, science has never been so fashionable. Neither labor, nor distribution has either fully put this theory into action until now, which makes both third-world-factory-workers and multimillionaires laugh at the same ongoing joke. For art-teachers and critics, I assure you there is no harm in embracing the positive rhetoric of the It-Girl. It is advisable to refer to this book in its rightful context as the it-book. Please note that every question posed is in itself a posture, rather than a legitimate concern, and we treat our answers as flexible solutions to transient whims. No major material alterations will be barred from future editions. We encourage change, especially when it is so rapid it remains the same. The publishers of this book publish it in seven different color and shape combinations, in full confidence that the book's multifarious aesthetic will cause it to become a collector's item and that customers will want to purchase every color and shape combo for themselves. Publishers everywhere are noting this simple marketing technique and applying it to classics with much less interesting covers than ours, such as Aristotle's Poetics, and Tolstoy's War and Peace. Publishers and consumers alike appreciate books that look and feel fun and sexy. In conclusion, what you see is better than what you don't see, because at least it’s basically real.
Today, I've been reading Brecht and he wrote some things that inspired me in a critique of Luckacs' History and Class Consciousness or Theory of the Novel (I should know which, maybe its both). He redefines 'Realism' to be historically present and inventive in its means, not necessarily 'sensuous' a la Tolstoy or Balzac; not necessarily anything, since the situation determines the means. I have felt for a long time, since my old days of playing free-improvised piano in high school that nothing is necessarily the proper means and that it is best to do away with pre-existing narratives about what a piece of art should or shouldn't be. The proper means arises in the moment and it is a changing process, not a fixed landing point. I am glad that Hazel felt 'Real' in the way Brecht describes and my understanding of what it means.
This is what I nervously read:
Preface to "The Science of Fashion" (or) "The Fashion of Science"
by Erica Eller
Science, the study of interesting things, has never been so fashionable. Life as we know it has no significance without scientific explanations that seek to render the unknowable into dinner talk. Whiteness is a quality found in salt, snow, eyes, bones, and clouds, and each of these visual clues form a vast and elusive question mark, which we dare not ask, for fear of seeming ignorant. Underneath our impenetrability, roses are red, blood is red, and rubies are red, but books are only flipped through. If you decide to read this one, it might contain an answer, or it might not. The question always determines the answer, so if you ask why is snow white, and the book says because its in season, it may at least demonstrate that shifting trends slide dangerously through our senses every instant. The fashion of science is a very foolish area of study except when you consider that heat causes water to boil therefore fashion is alluring. The allure of fashion is deliciously axiomatic. Teenagers never can decide when to stop questioning their elders, so take this book and put it between you and them in order to shield your countenance from their critique. If they pose the question to you, "Why?" you can simply turn to page 156 for the answer, which of course is 'Z'. Never stifle teenagers with overly rational answers, because they are the chic ones of the household. It is best to encourage them to suspect you for lying to them so they might rebel and attempt to rewrite the book. Let them discover its secret on their own – the void. In fashion, each rebellion is productive because it brings about the newest trend. The object of this book is to subject scientific axioms to minor metamorphoses so they might become cute decorations to wear around our necks. 2000 of these decorations have been arranged into an appendix at the back of the book. You may be tempted to copy their designs, but be warned that plagiarized ideas are never as good as the higher priced original. The best selling modern authors have each been consulted about the surface appeal of this book, and they all agreed that it was so simple the public would want to understand it, but that it would remain mysterious enough to ensure that only scientists would accurately classify it as Genus: Empty and Species: Fashion. Each scientist has admitted to a host of flawed assumptions, therefore we best selling authors doubt the validity of their categories. Regardless, we thank them for their reputation. The cut out portions of this book were merely substantive, but since you might find useful hints and additions to be compelling, we saved them for the 2nd 3rd and 4th editions, to be published over the coming years, with variable release dates, so the press will stay on their toes. Our unparalleled success has been repeatedly touted by our PR reps who designed fictive statistics to back our claims. Since the year 2000, a trillion copies have sold, which is incontrovertible proof of this book's necessity, and it has induced the author into a state of bliss so profound it surpasses the effects of his or her morphine addiction. Thus, this book is the antidote to all scientific claims, and yet, it subsumes science into its auspice, since, as the author has tirelessly instructed, science has never been so fashionable. Neither labor, nor distribution has either fully put this theory into action until now, which makes both third-world-factory-workers and multimillionaires laugh at the same ongoing joke. For art-teachers and critics, I assure you there is no harm in embracing the positive rhetoric of the It-Girl. It is advisable to refer to this book in its rightful context as the it-book. Please note that every question posed is in itself a posture, rather than a legitimate concern, and we treat our answers as flexible solutions to transient whims. No major material alterations will be barred from future editions. We encourage change, especially when it is so rapid it remains the same. The publishers of this book publish it in seven different color and shape combinations, in full confidence that the book's multifarious aesthetic will cause it to become a collector's item and that customers will want to purchase every color and shape combo for themselves. Publishers everywhere are noting this simple marketing technique and applying it to classics with much less interesting covers than ours, such as Aristotle's Poetics, and Tolstoy's War and Peace. Publishers and consumers alike appreciate books that look and feel fun and sexy. In conclusion, what you see is better than what you don't see, because at least it’s basically real.
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