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On Difficulty. in poetry and other arts. George Steiner, On Difficulty (1978). A common reaction to poetry: Huh? Four Difficulties Contingent Modal Tactical (my favorite!) Ontological. Four Difficulties. Contingent -- a cultural reference that you might have to "go look up."
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On Difficulty in poetry and other arts
George Steiner, On Difficulty (1978) A common reaction to poetry: Huh? Four Difficulties Contingent Modal Tactical (my favorite!) Ontological
Four Difficulties Contingent -- a cultural reference that you might have to "go look up." Your understanding (and, presumably, enjoyment) is contingent on knowing some fact (or tune?)
single candle = God’s eye Jan van EyckMarriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, 1434 St Margaret? crystal prayer beads oranges = ? shoes imported carpet $$$ Fido
Four Difficulties Modal -- after sincerely trying to engage and understand the work, you just can't like it due to fundamental issues of taste or personal experience. (Horror films revel in modal difficulty.)
Four Difficulties Tactical -- the artist deliberately gets in your way of immediately understanding the work's meaning (Why do this? Which is more enjoyable – the tale or the telling of the tale?) • Pulp Fiction • Speed or overwhelming complexity of music – bebop • Insider slang in lyrics • Ravel’s La Valse
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Woman in Front of a Mirror, 1841oil on canvas, 33.5 x 26 cm (13 3/16 x 10 1/4)
Braque, The Portuguese, 1911 CUBISM
Four Difficulties Ontological -- the artist through the work challenges the very definition of the genre or even the idea of art itself Fountain, 1917
Four Difficulties Contingent Modal Tactical (my favorite!) Ontological All together now . . .
Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about. From a poem, “Where Shall I Wander,” by John Ashbery, 2005
Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about. contingent From a poem, “Where Shall I Wander,” by John Ashbery, pub. 2005
Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about. tactical From a poem, “Where Shall I Wander,” by John Ashbery, pub. 2005
Attention, shoppers. From within the inverted commas of a strambotto, seditious whispering watermarks this time of day. Time to get out and, as they say, about. ontological This is a poem? ontological This is a poem? From a poem, “Where Shall I Wander,” by John Ashbery, pub. 2005
in music? Brian Ferneyhough
Ferneyhough String Trio (1995) Ontological? Tactical? Convention Expression
John Cage (after McLuhan) ‘music is information brushing against information’
JOHN ADAMS Hallelujah Junction (1996) for 2 pianos – rhythmically very tricky for the performers
Non-ontological directions in new music rhythmic developments timbral refinement x new tunings hybrids with rock, studio techniques improv, especially with electronics Me
Sonata Rocinante – a tactical difficulty an initial idea developed as written
Sonata Rocinante • Rocinante – Don Quixote’s horse • 4 sections -- Rocinante • as described by Cervantes (bony, stubborn) • as imagined by Quixote • again as described by Cervantes • as imagined by Quixote – and the reader? • the horse • the rider • the writer • the reader (computer demo performance)
Sonata Rocinante the horse
Sonata Rocinante the rider Quixote’s POV – Rocinante as dark, powerful, muscular (sort of in the style of Chopin)
Sonata Rocinante the writer the author’s games (the composer’s games) horsin’ around
Sonata Rocinante the reader the response of the reader integrating the effects of the novel
Undercurrent traditional motific development & expansion then subjected to various folding, fragmentation and repetition