blue iris

RIPENESS

Ripeness is
what falls away with ease.
Not only the heavy apple,
the pear,
but also the dried brown strands
of autumn iris from their core.

To let your body
love this world
that gave itself to your care
in all of its ripeness,
with ease,
and will take itself from you
in equal ripeness and ease,
is also harvest.


And however sharply
you are tested –
this sorrow, that great love –
it too will leave on that clean knife.

--ⓒ 2009 Jane Hirshfield

WILD GEESE


You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk
on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are,
no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

--ⓒ 2009 Mary Oliver


BLUE IRIS

Now that I'm free to be myself, who am I?

Can't fly, can't run and
see how slowly I walk.

Well, I think, I can read books.

"What's that you're doing?"
the green-headed fly shouts
as it buzzes past.

I close the book.

Well, I can write down words,
like these, softly.

"What's that you're doing?" whispers the wind,
pausing in a heap
just outside the window.

Give me a little time, I say back to its staring, silver face.
It doesn't happen all of a sudden, you know.

"Doesn't it?" says the wind, and breaks open, releasing
distillation of blue iris.

And my heart panics not to be,
as I long to be,
the empty, waiting, pure, speechless receptacle.

--ⓒ 2009 Mary Oliver

teaching it, part 1

we have looked at some of the books for teaching art during the japonisme era, here, and here, for example. i want to go further into those books, and explore several others.

perhaps seeing this lovely little floral line- drawing, you think 'japonisme!' or at least 'art nouveau!' well, in 1910 the new york board of education did neither.

here's what they said, never examining any of the implications: "the ornamental value of using a natural form for decorative purposes is dependent upon the rejection of small details, refinement of forms, clear edges and flattened values and color."

this is precisely the description western artists and critics relied upon to describe japonisme, and to incorporate the principles into their work.

i could find very little encour-agement or inspiration in this entire (short) book; it recommended rote and caution at every turn.

"the vital factor of order and system, dependent upon mathematics, is so important that it would be well if every designer, young or old, could be made to respect it. the finest creations in the history of decoration have obeyed the laws of geometry however shrouded such laws may have been. only in art's decline do we find the designer throwing away in his conceit the very factor that would be his work's salvation."

yes, it is possible, in japanese floral patterns to find the evenly repeated design, but more frequently we find asymmetry. can this, though, be called geometric? maybe so.

"a word of caution, however, may not be amiss. there is a fascination in watching the development of a surface design by the simple repe- tition of a unit which causes in many schools far too much time to be spent upon it.... the feeble teacher is tempted to produce a quan- tity of such designs whose results are showy but of little practical value."

and though they might have been their best teachers, students were cautioned, "pen and ink draw- ing is to be but cautiously resorted to for elementary work. it copies from pen and ink drawings of popular illustrators have almost no educational value."

their hearts were in the right place, going about, in the only way they knew, the job of teaching how to imbue the line with grace and beauty. 'design and representation,' found at the internet archive, leaves it to you to decide.

the two gorgeous iris prints are from a japanese seed catalogue from the 1880s; i have put a DR in front of all the images from the textbook; the textiles image is taken from a chôbunsai eishi print. the rest are names in their labels. i just don't think i would have liked that class.

growing a painting

peas in a pod who likely never met.

carl moll and william wendt were born not that far apart (but far enough to assume they never met).

carl moved to vienna and william to the united states. they both painted.

moll's life was lived from 1861 to 1945, wendt 1865 to 1946. to place them in art history, we see that bonnard's life was 1867 to 1947. (i'm moved by the fact that he died the year i was born.)

thus, these impressionists were second generation, and the differences show.

both have incorporated the flatness and suggestion of outline that the spread of japonisme had predicted, along with its asymmetrical design and frequent forward-weighted balance.

brush strokes were often blunt for both.

they love similar colors, and the mountains, and the last moments of the perfect earth.

perhaps the fact that both chose the relatively unusual square format, suggests that both believed boxing the past might preserve it.

william wendt moved to the golden state and painted it with deep reverence for the rest of his life. he helped to found the california art club.

carl moll helped found the vienna secession, and won the golden state award!

the tide of the movement lifted all boats; where one was moored was inconsequential.

teachers impart vision to students who sow it like seed across the land.

fertility abounds.

MY BLACK PRESIDENT

when i was living in paris for a bit, a big song on frenchMTV was brenda fassie's 'my black president.' nelson mandela had been released from prison after 27 years. he revived his role of president of the also long-banned ANC, and though he would not become president of south africa for several years, her song rang true.

she'd have loved to live to see us now.

MY BLACK PRESIDENT

The year 1963
The people's president
Was taken away by security men
All dressed in a uniform
The brutality, brutality
Oh, no, my black president
Him and his comrades
Were sentenced to isolation
For many painful years
For many painful years
Many painful years
Of hard labour
They broke ropes
But the spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh, no, my, my black president

Hmm maa
Mama
Hmm maa
Mama

Hmm maa
Madiba
Hmm maa
Madiba
Ahh, nyu ye uyee huu

He broke ropes
But his spirit was never broken
Never broken
Oh oh oh, my president

Now in 1990
The people's president
Came out from jail
Raised up his hand and said
'Viva, viva, my people'
He walked the long road
Back, back to freedom
Back, back to freedom
Freedom for my black president

Let us rejoice for our president
Let us sing for our president
Let us pray for our president
Let us sing, let us dance
For Madiba give us freedom
We thank you Lord
For listening to our prayers
Night and day
Oh oh oh, my president

Madiba

[Zulu /Xhosa lyrics]

My president
I will die for my president
I will sing for my president

I will stand and say
Viva, viva, viva, viva, viva, viva

© Brenda Fassie

truly a new year, a new century finally begun

PRAISE SONG
FOR THE DAY

Each day we go about

our business,

walking past each other,

catching each others’ eyes

or not,

about to speak

or speaking.

All about us is noise.

All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din,

each one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem,

darning a hole in a uniform,

patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere

with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum

with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky;

A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words,

words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed;

words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone

and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side;

I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe;

We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day.

Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,

who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce,

built brick by brick the glittering edifices

they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day.

Praise song for every hand-lettered sign;

The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love,

love beyond marital, filial, national.

Love that casts a widening pool of light.

Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,

anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp --

praise song for walking forward in that light.

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER

Jan 20, 2009 12:45 ET

japanese impressionism

we have discussed the influence of the japanese prints in the birth of impressionism; impressionism itself returned the favor. in the fields of art, music, and writing, as in the west, the face of impressionism smiled.

some of the artists lived and or studied in paris, and then came back to japan to teach. some just knew someone who knew someone....

a brief excerpt from what is considered 'japanese impressionism' in a short tale:

He was not to do anything in bad taste, the woman of the inn warned old Eguchi. He was not to put his finger into the mouth of the sleeping girl, or try anything else of that sort.

There were this room, some four yards square, and the one next to it, but apparently no other rooms upstairs; and, since the downstairs seemed too restricted for guest rooms, the place could scarcely be called an inn at all. Probably because its secret allowed none, there was no sign at the gate.

All was silence. Admitted through the locked gate, old Eguchi had seen only the woman to whom he was now talking. It was his first visit. He did not know whether she was the proprietress or a maid. It seemed best not to ask.

A small woman perhaps in her mid-forties, she had a youthful voice, and it was as if she had especially cultivated a calm, steady manner. The thin lips scarcely parted as she spoke. She did not often look at Eguchi. There was something in the dark eyes that lowered his defenses, and she seemed quite at ease herself. She made tea from the iron kettle on the bronze brazier. The tea leaves and the quality of the brewing were astonishingly good, for the place and the occasion--to put old Eguchi more at ease.

In the alcove hung a painting by Kawai Gyokudo, probably a reproduction, of a mountain village warm with autumn leaves. Nothing suggested that the room had unusual secrets.

"And please don't try to wake her. Not that you could, whatever you did. She's sound asleep and knows nothing." The woman said it again: "She'll sleep on and on and know nothing at all, from start to finish. Not even who's been with her. You needn't worry."

Eguchi said nothing of the doubts that were coming over him.

"She's a very pretty girl. I only take guests I know I can trust."

As Eguchi looked away his eye fell to his wrist watch.

"What time is it?"

"A quarter to eleven."

"I should think so. Old gentlemen like to go to bed early and get up early. So whenever you're ready."

The woman got up and unlocked the door to the next room. She used her left hand. There was nothing remarkable about the act, but Eguchi held his breath as he watched her. She looked into the other room. She was no doubt used to looking through doorways, and there was nothing unusual about the back turned toward Eguchi. Yet it seemed strange. There was a large, strange bird on the knot of her obi. He did not know what species it might be. Why should such realistic eyes and feet have been put on a stylized bird? It was not that the bird was disquieting in itself, only that the design was bad; but if disquiet was to be tied to the woman's back, it was there in the bird. The ground was a pale yellow, almost white.

The next room seemed to be dimly lighted. The woman closed the door without locking it, and put the key on the table before Eguchi. There was nothing in her manner to suggest that she had inspected a secret room, nor was there in the tone of her voice.

"Here is the key. I hope you sleep well. If you have trouble getting to sleep, you will find some sleeping medicine by the pillow."

"Have you anything to drink?"

"I don't keep spirits."

"I can't even have a drink to put myself to sleep?"

"No."

"She's in the next room?"

"She's asleep, waiting for you."

ⓒ2009 Kawabata Yasunari

from "House of the Sleeping Beauties"

Report: Federal Science and the Public Good

Report: Federal Science and the Public Good

Download: Federal Science and the Public Good - Presidential Transition Update PDF | Federal Science and the Public Good - Presidential Transition Update - Executive Summary PDF | Scientific Freedom and the Public Good

A strong and sustained U.S. investment in independent science has brought the nation significant economic progress, science-based public policy, and unequaled global scientific leadership. As the country faces extraordinary challenges in the coming years, a robust federal scientific workforce and public trust in government decision making are even more critical.

The federal government runs on vast amounts of information, and makes policy decisions every day that affect the health and well-being of all Americans. Although science is rarely the only factor driving public policy, scientific input should always be weighed from an impartial perspective. Unfortunately, numerous independent investigations have documented a pattern of suppression, manipulation, and distortion of federal science before it enters the policy process. Under the outgoing George W. Bush administration, political interference in science has indeed become pervasive.

Furthermore, recent changes in the structure of the federal government impair the ability of federal scientists to fulfill their responsibility to serve their agencies and the public interest. Federal scientists find themselves under growing surveillance and control. Administration officials have curtailed public access to scientific information, and subtle systemic changes have sidelined scientists and advisory committees that previously helped inform the policy-making process. In too many cases, these officials have used tainted science to justify misguided policies.

The consequences of these practices are profound. Policy makers cannot make informed decisions without access to the best available scientific information. Even worse, the misuse of science threatens our nation’s ability to respond to increasingly complex public health, environmental, and security challenges. Such interference significantly decreases the effectiveness of federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Environmental Protection Agency. It risks demoralizing the federal scientific workforce and raises the possibility of lasting harm to the federal scientific enterprise. And it makes our government less accountable to the citizens it is supposed to serve.

President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress should act immediately to halt these abuses and implement reforms and safeguards to prevent them from recurring.

In this report we provide detailed recommendations for restoring scientific integrity to federal policy making. These reforms include enacting whistle-blower protections for government scientists and researchers, increasing government transparency, reforming the regulatory process to protect independent science, improving scientific advice to the government, and strengthening monitoring and enforcement. Improving the way that science informs the decision-making process will require strong leadership at the top of the executive branch, as well as the persistent and energetic engagement of Congress, the scientific community, and the public.

Chapter 1 of this report outlines our detailed recommendations to President-elect Obama and the 111th Congress for restoring scientific integrity to federal policy making. Chapter 2 of this report briefly explores the ways that the George W. Bush administration directly misused science during his tenure. Chapter 3 delves into the systemic changes that have made it more difficult for federal scientists to serve the public interest.

This report is intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Improving the way that science informs the decision-making process will require the persistent and energetic engagement of Congress, the executive branch, the scientific community, and the public.

Last Revised: 12/16/08

the strange mr. strange

edward fairbrother strange made his living writing articles and books about design: lettering, bookbinding, lace, etc. his tone was often one of arch dissatisfaction and resentment that no longer were the excellent standards of the past being upheld.

we've met him already, listening to him rail against the degenerate work of seitei watanabe, and i promised you you'd hear more. after railing generally against american book design, he says:

to turn to the consideration of some particular cases, one is compelled to reiterate a somewhat well-worn story, that of the wide-spread and curious influence of aubrey beardsley. the cover designs by bertram g goodhue are often full of it--beardsley's earlier manner of the morte d'arthur;

but of all beardsley's disciples the one who has more closely approached to him in method is will h bradley. the binding of the romance of zion castle is a typical example of this somewhat common tendency. here we have another version of the 'avenue poster' type of decoration;

with, however, not a tithe of the marvellous success of the latter in indication form and drapery by judiciously balance flat masses. in mr bradley's design the gold is over-done, and the hard boundary lines to which it gives rise spoil the effect of the decidedly clever distribution of the upper part of the cover.

the same artist's lyrics of earth wants balance; the serpentine line is rather too heavy, and not very gracefully distributed, although the tree is well rendered and just in its proper place.

a very pleasant treatment of a conventional landscape is that adopted by mr louis rhead, in meadow grass. the use of a picture pure and simple for a cover, instead of some arrangement of ornament, is a new and dangerous device; and it requires powers of no uncommon order to secure for it the success obtained by mr rhead in this instance.

a book-cover has been made by margaret armstrong for love-letters of a musician. it is good in color, the rare subordination of the two lines of floral diaper giving a pleasing effect, but the head of st cecelia, done on an inlay of vellum in slight relief, and the border gold which surrounds it, seem rather forced and over-wrought.

the same artist has produced an effective composition of poppies and pipe-stems, in crimson, light green and gold, on coarse white canvas, for washington irving's rip van winkle.

this is, one would imagine, a good 'saleable' cover, though, from the critical point of view it must not be too closely considered, and the lettering cries aloud for condemnation.

(mr strange was by no means alone in his pouts; snipping, snapping and sniping were the trade of the day in the large and gor- geously produced periodicals covering the art world. so what else is new?)