Publication --is the Auction
Of the Mind of Man --
Poverty---be justifying
For so foul a thing
Possibly--but We--would rather
From Our Garret go
White--Unto the White Creator--
Than invest--Our Snow--
Thought belong to Him who gave it--
Then--to Him Who bear
It's Corporeal illustration--Sell
The Royal Air--
In the Parcel--Be the Merchant
Of the Heanvenly Grace--
But reduce no Human Spirit
To Disgrace of Price
c. 1863
Emily Dickinson
it would seem that one or two readings of these lines would indicate
no other interpretation than a literal one
miss dickinson
while regarding her work with importance
sees the whole idea of publicaton as a rather crass activity
the power of all art is essentially immediate
to the extent that it is shared
and admired (or not) it is already
being mediated
she must've recognized however the value of books
this is something to consider in our day
of exaggerated worth
on all fronts of artistic endeavor
to presume to profit
or even to aim at a readership
in literature (and i would suggest - any art)
is to have misplaced
the objective
3 comments:
YEs, I'd agree. To even make art is always already a falling away into mercantilization of the poetic spirit, but who is strong enough to stay in the void, and avoid making it?
A barrel of monkeys?
Not exactly, but there's always this tendency among us -- you gotta see this!
It's neat that she avoided that.
Oddly, another poet that Ithink did was Corso.
What do you think of the injunction against graven images?
christians from the beginning had the inclination to accept the efforts of manmade beauty no matter how primitive-
floor mosaics...an art form characteristic of the persians were the first expressions...it seems the ICON of jesus sort of flew in the face of the jewish revulsion...and from there on in every culture to which they attended the christians acknowledged the artful efforts of the people as a way of explaining the appearance of christ...it looks odd to some folks but the making of images became a way of doing theology...various efforts at iconoclasm have only failed and have increased the zeal of religious artists...the art object took on a reduction in power for it was clear that the power of the object was not the piece itself but what it represented...the christians were not squeemish about anything related to the body or the artistic intuition...except perhaps for body art...they didn't like that too much
the word KATHOLICOS suggested and does suggest the acceptance of beauty wherever it is found and it was the attitude of the first missionaries to recognize god working amongst a pagan gentile people before their arrival...a way of acknowledging that god precedes man's efforts
what i do find interesting is the modern preoccupation with art in the galleries people have this innate sense that it is important but they give it religious significance like this artist is the greatest new thing and this artist speaks powerfully to everyone and this artist is a god or goddess...certainly we do this with pop musicians
religious music like religious art moves away from the actual artist the artist must by the very nature of the work assume a role of relative insignificance...i am a worthless servant
read again recently in desolation angels kerouacs description of corso playing the piano holding fairly sophisticated people captive with sound he would do these theme and variations or these impromptu sonatas...one wonders about the exaggerated minds seared with drugs and alcohol..but kerouac makes comparisons to chopin
i think picasso had the instinct for religious art in his use of primitive elements but his only religion was himself and i sense that that is the danger and that is the way of most artists these days
i'm reading john bergers' collected essays mostly on art
his is a perspective worth noting
Methodists at one point banned theatricals in favor of long confessions of the state of their souls in church. Sort of like blogging.
I love the link between theology and aesthetics.
Like you, I think contemporary art has replaced God for most people, and that artists are supposed to be like the Messiah.
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