Heidegger

In a message dated 31/05/2009 19:29:14 GMT Standard Time, Saicho at aol.com
writes:

Jud (initially)
Would it to be true to say for example that Verdi in attempting to
incorporate the stories behind such repertory staples as Un ballo in maschera, La
forza del Destino, Macbeth or Don Carlos in operatic form was uninfluenced
by the real historical protagonists? Is it a true claim that the music and
librettos of his operatic dramas do not incorporate any expressions of
Verdi’s own experience of life, attending operatic performances, as well as
being influenced by concerts of specifically, German music - Italy then
under Austrian domination, the Italian audience of Nabucco responding with
nationalistic fervour to the exiled slaves’ lament for their lost homeland,
his unique personality, reactions, responses, and intentions which would be
of interest to modern interpreters or students of his work? Can it be
true that there is there nothing useful or of interest in a writer’s own
history and that which made him what he was, and thus brought to his work that
would help future commentators on works of literature, philosophy and art
(and even politics) to understand the thrust of the piece relevant to its
creator’s own specific biographical context and the background zeitgeist?
Richard:
I have no doubt that the composer, artist or writer is bound to reflect in
their art aspects of the artist’s experiences, beliefs, etc. However, it
is impossible to ferret out what those aspects amount to vis a vis the
artistic products. Further more, I consider such aspects irrelevant to all
except the academics and scholars who might find grist for the mill of their
opinions, speculations and analyses.
Jud:
For me it is quite opposite - If I encounter a writer, a poet, an artist
who interests me I have a consuming interest in finding out as much as I can
about the person in order to understand the influences which shaped him or
her. For example As someone who has more than a passing interest in the
way of life of ordinary people, especially the rural life of days long past,
I decided to talk about a book called “Lark Rise to Candleford” which was
written by Flora Thompson and was first published in 1945. I first came
across the book as a result of it being on the reading list when I sat my
English Lit. A Level exam, was is needed by me (first time around) to enter
university. Flora Thompson was born in 1876, at Juniper Hill in Oxfordshire,
she lived in this small hamlet until she took up work in a nearby town
assisting at the Post Office at the age of fourteen. The book is actually a
trilogy of three volumes, namely, Lark Rise; Over to Candleford and Candleford
Green, these three volumes were originally published separately. The
period is the late 1800’s, in a small hamlet that is called Lark Rise because of
the number of Skylarks which occupy it’s surrounding fields. Lark Rise is
actually Juniper Hill, the hamlet Flora grew up in, and although the book
is a biographical work the names of people and places were changed,
presumably to protect identities. Some of the hamlets occupants could still
remember when the area was common land, before the passing of the Enclosure Acts,
a time when the rural poor still had some land to cultivate and perhaps
some stock to rear. It is against this background that the narrative
continues, with the central character being Laura who is of course Flora herself. I
became so fascinated by Flora and the tiny hamlet that I drove hundreds of
miles (a big deal in Britain) to visit the place, view her cottage, drink
a pint of scrumpy (apple cider) in the seat that she sat in in the old pub
etc. I was interested in Edmund Husserl at one time and took time out to
visit his locale in Moravia to seep up as much as I could of the environment
in which he grew up etc.One of my heroes is Richard Jeffries - I visited
his village in Wiltshire and read his life-story - such knowledge of him
added temendously to my appreciation of his work and I have most of them
(including my favourite (The Story of my heart) on my website.
_http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/richard_jeffries_library.htm_

 http://evans-experientialism.freewebspac…)

Jud:
Would you say that art in general and its outcome and interpretation is
unrelated to its creator? Does it mean that the authors, composers,
sculptors and artists of cultural works are best left as irrelevant or even
anonymous, as the biographies and intentions/agendas of the creators (if known)
would not provide anything of additional interest, help or assistance in a
deeper understanding of the work? In other words - is it just the
painting on the wall - the text on the page - the overture on the radio that
counts?
Richard:
I am not sure how much one can know of the artists inner feelings and
beliefs that might add something of value to the art, therefore,. for me, the
art must stand alone. Some art is quite didactic, specific and rather
unambiguous; some art is very much ambiguous and open to interepretation – the
eye of the beholder the final arbiter of the meaning of the art. Does the
fact that we know so little about Shakespeare’s life diminish his art? Does
it really matter that Tennesse Williams was a homosexual? Does it matter
that Sargent and Henry James were lovers – as some kind of influences on
either man’s art? So what if Wagner was an absolute Jew hater? Does knowing
that Picasso was a womanizer have much to do with his Guernica?

Jud:
In my view what we do not know about an author does not diminish the
work, but the more we know - the more our understanding often increases
Another example: Quite by chance the other day I came across the work of
the Kentuckian artist (mostly water-colours) This is how I came across him:

I read the following beautiful and haunting lines out at my mother’s
funeral on Wednesday the 7th of May 1997.

Absent

Sometimes, between love’s shadows on the grass,
The little waves of truant sunlight pass.
My eyes grow dim with tenderness the while,
Thinking I see you - thinking I see you smile.

And sometimes in the twilight gloom apart,
the tall trees whisper - whisper heart to heart,
>From my fond lips - the eager answers fall,
Thinking I hear you - thinking I hear you call.

My mother: Annie Elizabeth Evans was born in 1904. The above was one of
her favourite poems. I later discovered that it was actually the lyrics of an
Edwardian ballad called ‘Absent’ composed in 1899, with the words by Cathe
rine Y. Glen, and the music by J. W. Metcalf. It was sung on an early
grammophone record by by Christine Miller.) During my googling about the lyrics
I discovered that Paul Sawier new the song.

I also found that when in 1914 Paul Sawyier the American Impressionist
(1865-1917) received word that Mayme Bull, his longtime sweetheart, had passed
away from “nervous prostration.” Sawyier’s last visit to Kentucky was for
Bull’s funeral, after which he remained in the Frankfort cemetery to paint
the scene of the gravesite. Under the picture, in watercolors, he etched
the lyrics to the song, “Absent.” Sawyier never returned to the Commonwealth
after Bull’s death. In a description by his sister, Mary Campbell, Sawyier
had lost “all his desire to live” after the loss. Etched on Sawyier’s
painting of Mayme Bull’s Gravesite:

Paul Sawyier (1865-1917) was born the son of a physician in Madison
County, Ohio, but his family relocated to Frankfort, Kentucky when he was young.
Paul’s early inclinations towards art were cultivated by his parents, and
in 1884 Sawyier enrolled in the Cincinnati Art School. Within two years, he
opened a studio in Cincinnati. In New York, Sawyier studied under William
Merritt Chase at the Art Students League. Sawyier returned to Cincinnati and
studied under Frank Duveneck. He then returned to Frankfort where local
subjects became his focus, and it was here he developed his particular
aptitude for watercolor. Between 1908 and 1913, Sawyier spent several years
living on a houseboat on the Kentucky River painting his surroundings. At the
1893 Columbian Exposition Sawyier and his work achieved a level of
popularity, and he, unlike most of his Kentucky contemporaries, embraced
Impressionism. Proud of his status as a professional artist, Sawyier generally refused
to engage in other pursuits even when money was short (which it often was).
In 1913, Sawyier relocated to Brooklyn, New York, living with his widowed
sister. Years later, he moved to the Catskill Mountains where he died in
1917.

Paul Sawyier first met Mary “Mayme” Bull (1865-1914), also of Frankfort in
1887,. While the two became engaged, they never married (a result of their
caring for their aging and ailing parents and Sawyier’s constant financial
instability). Little is known of their relation because Sawyier’s sister
burned all of the couple’s correspondence upon the death of her brother.

I downloaded ever painting I could by him and found that because I had
read his life story - I enjoyed, could empathise and enjoy the scenes he
painted much more.

Jud:
For example take the old English folk song Sumer Is Icumen which was well
ahead of its time both musically and libretto-wise.
It is a cannon in four parts sung over a two part “foot” or bass line,
itself a cannon in two parts. This makes the whole song a polyphonic
composition in six parts at a time when the most “advanced” music was in two or
three part polyphony. This song is remarkable for being ahead of its time.. The
music with performance instructions was in a manuscript, originally in
Reading Abbey. It is the oldest piece of six-part polyphonic music extant.. Its
composer is anonymous and it is estimated to date from around 1260.
Now would it not only be of human interest to know who wrote in - and
wouldn’t a knowledge of its author and something of his history be of great
help to historians and musicologists with an interest in medieval music to
know more about the personal and cultural influences that came to bear on its
author?
Richard:
*Advances* and *progress* in music is interesting for its own sake, and
can be analyzed quite apart from the composers as can all movements and
transitions in all art forms. We can know nothing of the authors of the Rig
Vedas or the Old or New Testament, the Upanishads or even of Plato’s works.
It is obvious from my comments, that I am no scholar or academic. I
believe that much can be written about an artist and the relevance of his/her
life on their works, but IMO most of it must be speculation.
Jud:
Would our attitude towards the piece be any different if for example we
learned that its creator was a lowly peasant - or a high Lord of a manor, or
a pervert priest or an Italian immigrant - or even (*lawks a mussey!) a
women?
Richard:
Mine would not be any different – IMO it would only be a curious and
mostly irrelevant fact.
Having said all this, I will admit that knowing something of the mores,
beliefs and religions of the artists of the caves of Lascaux would be helpful
in discovering the purpose behind the art — but there is no need to know
any details of the personality of the artists.
Regards,
Richard

Jud:
Are well.. its horses for courses I suppose - we are all different - viva
la difference!

regards,

Jud
—————————————————————————-
———————————
Reifications - like biological entozoa are gut-enculturations which are not

necessarily reliant upon nor benignly disposed to the welfare of their
hosts.
—————————————————————————-
———————————-

Sincerely,

Jud Evans.

Private Website: _http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/index.htm_
 http://evans-experientialism.freewebspac…)

*Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at
different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing.*
(William James.)

—————————————————————————-
———————————
Reifications - like biological entozoa are gut-enculturations which are not

necessarily reliant upon nor benignly disposed to the welfare of their
hosts.
—————————————————————————-
———————————-

Sincerely,

Jud Evans.

Private Website: _http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/index.htm_
 http://evans-experientialism.freewebspac…)

*Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at
different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing.*
(William James.)

Posted on Sunday, June 7th, 2009 at 6:00 am
comment | rss 2.0 | trackback
Tags: Biography»