the rain on Venus

virga; noun

1. wisps of precipitation evaporating before reaching the ground

Ika

negotiating my experience of Irena Knezevic's work at Illinois State University. was really nice to see so much of her work in person.

 Irena Knezevic - Trained Girl (fiberglass, foam, hair, fabric, Donald Judd plywood box) 2010

 Irena Knezevic - Universe Girl (detail) (acrylic, leather, fabric, hair) 2011

found these two things around the ISU art building:

and found (got) a title for the wind-chime piece that i have in the works (see the sketch here):

Ghost in the Graveyard 

rhyme scheme

in the works, maybe done:

Adam Farcus - Schema (a-b-c-b-a-e-a-e-c-b) (cloths pins, acrylic, brass) 2011, 12" x 3½" x ½"

actually, on later thought, this piece needs to be bigger - the brass rod needs to be around 6 feet long, and the cloths pins should follow a specific poetic rhyme scheme.

Axes (Axis, plural)

Axis (after Jason Dodge)

i pulled this out of a lot of notes from about 30 minutes of standing in the Jason Dodge gallery in the exhibition "The Language of Less (Then and Now)" [or as it is read on the wall and in publication "Then The Language of and Now Less"] at the mca.
<3
i think this, and my 9/11 poem from this year, signal a poetic form that i need to explore more: axis - poems organized like compasses. a language of orienteering and orientating.

Jason Dodge - The Flutes are Filled with Poison (blockflutes, comium maculatum, silver) 2010 [a piece not in the mca show, but sooo nice]

haiku

we went over what a haiku is in NWA today. 5-7-5 and with reference to a season. i noticed the that the source (content) of the form wasn't addressed in any of the poems that were handed out. so i wrote one (my first ever, i think) that addresses something about me (a white american dude) writing in this form.

1945
summer in Hiroshima

and Nagasaki

yep- that's my second poem that references atomic bombs. (1st here)

"measure"

an idea to be explored:
Measure
a portrait of my immediate family and me
- Sears portrait? Photoshopped?
printed large (24" x 36")
placed in a large, hand-made, frame made of yard-sticks
-or all photos stuck in the frame of a yard-stick framed mirror (see below)
with other photos & memorabilia stuck in the edge of the frame (old and new)

(frame found on flickr)

 Kerry James Marshall - Untitled (Mementos) (c-print) 1998 [from the MCA collection]

my dad and mom in the hospital, right before i was born (i found this in my parent's basement a long time ago)

a Sears family portrait found on Google

Coal City High School Art Club at the Morris, IL Wal*Mart

what?

these two things are not the same. my childhood has changed.

<3 - Lawrence Weschler

some notes

7/1/11
the candles lit themselves and then melted into nothing

8/15/10
secure shadows, slow temperatures

5/10
rose colored glasses
-Brian Biskie

8/6/09

"we go to bed, but we don't sleep too hard"

-Papa Maxie

'red' and stuff on the floor

i went to the first meet of a new poetry reading group at Adds Donna today - it was really nice. i think i have a new friend crush, and she gave us this quote, "a big part of poetry is being aware that you are reading."

thinking through some materials on my studio floor (while channeling Jason Dodge)

in our group we read Autobiography of Red, by Anne Carson. it's pretty amazing - i need to read it again. here is a nice part from it:

Then he met Herakles and the kingdoms of his life all shifted down a few notches.
They were two superior eels
at the bottom of the tank and they recognized each other like italics.
-
The world poured back and forth between their eyes once or twice.

pg. 39

the change from my pocket on the bathroom tile

next month we read Maggie Nelxon's Bluets. [from red to blue - rods and cones]

the sound it makes

Adam Farcus - Scales (collage and acrylic on newsprint) 2011

*some new-ish things - a collage, and a sketch for an installation. been listening to: Rolf Julius, Rachel's, and The Conet Project.

magical thinking

Rachel Foster - Protection Pendants

The Center For Magical Thinking
 
What is Magical Thinking? Most of us, who are familiar with the phrase, think of those people who carry a lucky rabbits foot or avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk. Magical thinking is for those who are afraid of the world, who won’t walk under ladders, who always say “god bless you” even when a stranger sneezes. What about reaching for the Aspirin when you have a headache and feeling better before you’ve even swallowed the pill? Does the idea of “what goes around comes around” help keep society civil? Can karma affect our pocketbooks? When the terrified public speaker has his lucky penny in his pocket, does it help him deliver a better speech? And what about baseball players? Can all those rituals really improve their batting average? What’s the difference between magical thinking and self-fulfilling prophecy? How much control do we really have?

Scientists state that schizophrenics exhibit more magical thinking than those who are clinically depressed. Schizophrenia enables sufferers to make more connections within the world (albeit paranoid connections), whereas those who suffer from depression typically see no connections, think the world is in freefall, and do not believe in fate.

Superstitions, blessings, rituals, karma, destiny…all of these things are another way to express desire. Getting blessed from a priest during Sunday mass exhibits the desire to remain safe, protected, and loved. Perhaps we think magically because the universe is so much bigger than any of us. Because we are so small. Because we are scared. Because, ultimately, we have so little power and control. Perhaps, magical thinking is the most beautiful, universal coping mechanism.

The Center for Magical Thinking was born from the desire to explore these ideas and the gray areas in between. Welcome! We are excited to have you join us. We hope you enjoy the results of our labor.

-this is the statement from the exhibition of the same title, by Rachel Foster, at Carville Annex in San Francisco. if you're in that area, it is up till Oct. 29 - you should go for me!

found vs. art

(after yesterdays post)
i think i might want to do lots of these pairings:

photo, found near Talman and Warren, Chicago, IL

   

Bob Linder - Abstract (lightjet print) 2007

magic found in a science book

 
they kinda remind me of these two dudes:

Dan Gunn - Harlequin No. 4 (acrylic, fabric, caning, hardware with wood) 2010

Anselm Reyle - Untitled (acrylic and purple pvc foil on canvas in acrylic glass box) 2006

tomorrow

Living with Everyday Problems

Adam Farcus and Allison Yasuakawa

Violet Poe Projects, Bloomington, IL

5pm - 8pm

photo of the show card (and a plastic dog) at my friends' house in Richmond, VA

gig in the sky

My first attempt at transcribing Pink Floyd's The Great Gig in the Sky.

* * * * *

And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it — you've got to go sometime.

oa oh ah oh oh ah oh ah oh ah

ah

ya

ya

ya

ah ha

yah

ah

ah ah ah

hah

ah

ah

ah oo

oh

oh

oh oh oh oh oh

ay

yay ya ya ya

ay ay ha

ya

ah

ah

oh oh

oh

oo

oh oh oh

oh

ah

ha ya

ha ha ya

ay

oh

oh

oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh

oh

oo

I never said I was frightened of dying

oh oh oh oh oh ay

oh oh

oh

oh

oh

woh

ay

oo-ay

oh oh oh oh

woh

oh

woh

woh oh oh ay

ah ha ya

NWA WTF

I just came back from my Monday Neighborhood Writing Alliance writing workshop. After considering today's developments and past comments, I have a few theories about the NWA.
They seem to want to proliferate the status quo. So I ask myself:
- what's my beef with that? (I think I accept this love boat approach - they like it, it fulfills them, and I'm happy for them)
- why should I push against it? (I think I'm bored with the status quo - I want more - I want to be challenged, and to challenge/think/work)

I've heard my written work referred to as "experimental" by undergrad professors (at ISU), graduate professors (at UIC), the NWA publication review staff, and today the head of our NWA group said it. (Perhaps she used it because the review committee did?) So I ask myself:
- is my writing bad?
- am I actually experimenting (and don't know it)?
- is "experimental" a (poorly) named genre?
- are they trying to hold me to outdated modes of production?
This term seems to be used in a slightly back-handed way. It is almost derogatory. Like the things I write are not trite, or undeveloped, and don't warrant consideration.

Maybe it is time for me to look elsewhere. Maybe just artists? Or maybe I just want the warm embrace of an academic institution (but that doesn't really sound like fun).

Ok. So I talked to Allie. She is so smart.
I have unreasonable expectations for this group. Most of the people in this group seem to be there to write "personal narratives;" or something like that. They're not there to challenge what it means to be a writer in 2011 or to bring the critique pain. These are the things that I am looking for. But, my writing is also an extension of my visual art practice - thereby I want my writing to be populist. This means that this may be a good (even if frustrating) place to test the populist waters of my poetry - to see how far I can go and what I need to do to be understood by more than academics.
I'm gunna start going to the Next Objectionists meets at Mess Hall too - to complement the NWA.

call and repsonse

James Schuyler
Gulls

Gulls
loudly insist on indefensible rights

Spruce
gather together on spindle shanks

Queen Anne's Lace
tip platters at perilous angles

Hawkweed
all sneeze at the same time

Rocks
go back to sleep

Birches
grunt as they scratch themselves

Stumps
grow old in hospitableness

Moss
free of dandruff

Bunchberries
trotting about

* * * * *
this post, made by Google image searching each of the coupled lines of James Schuyler's Gulls. the first image (regardless of how great others might have been) was selected. the process, from steve roden.