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The shredded Sienese

This book was indeed a sort of cut-and-paste accumulation of art, prose and poetry. Some pieces, like the Osap's Fables, seem at first glance to be completely nonsensical, while others seem to follow thought patterns. The shorter prose paragraphs often fell lyrically upon the ear enough for me to consider them poetry, and in fact often seemed to debate this fact within themselves. I actually found that my favorite piece wasn't one of the cut-up bits that give the Shredder it's unique internal look, but was actually one of the first pieces that falls into the 'prose' category. Gerard de Nerval's Chantilly is an expression of a place, a snapshot almost. The author gives to us his reminiscence about a place he obviously loves, from visual impressions to the memories they inspire, the character of which infinitely colors the impression of the place. Much like Chantilly lace he lays out the places and customs as you might excpect, and then he drops in the harshness of reality, deaths and sorrow that bring the rosy quality of the memories to a much deeper and more soulful hue. This piece is an exceptional example of what I feel gives way to the always present question, what is poetry?

Ghost Dad was an exceptional movie.

Simply put, The Sienese Shredder is an annual journal of art, literature, poetry, and culture. I can say confidently this is definitely what it is because I personally went to sienese-shredder.com and, you know, that's what it says. It was very interesting to read. I can't say every single entry interested me. A lot of the more, er, academic entries tended to... not necessarily bore me, but they definitely did not excite me as much as the more poem-esque entries did. I especially liked Denise Duhamel's Ghost Weave. Maybe it's because I like ghosts or maybe it's because I've always wanted a brother, but I found Ghost Weave to be extremely entertaining. I mean, it was three stories pretty much in one! It also inspired me to do my own weave poem and I think I, along with plenty of others I am sure, tend to hold near and dear to my heart works of art that inspire me to create something of my own.

I also liked Edwin Denby's poem about the "no-nonsense escalator." See, I'm scared of escalator's because my Grandma was a scary person that told me really nonsensical things about ordinary everyday objects that transformed them, in my mind, into monstrosities. The escalator was one of them. And I am sure plenty of other kids can admit to being horrified by the story about the boy whose foot got stuck in the escalator. I mean, it's a traumatizing thing when you're seven years old. So I think the poem really hit a reminiscent spot for me which helped me to identify with it and ultimately cherish it.

Actually, I really liked all of The Sienese Shredder. Even the boring parts were more exciting than reading the usual monotony that people read in things like Time magazine everyday. And there was just something about the journal, beyond the entries, just a general feel about it I guess you could say, that really seemed to resonate with me. I felt like it's a journal that represents a new chapter in the life of art, a chapter that I get to be experiencing first hand, and as cheesy as that may sound, I'm not going to lie; I'm excited.

Chocolate bar between two slices of bread--

"If you believe that not everything can be told in a book,
words know how to find their own way
and, left to themselves, decide where to land." -- Marie Chaix

Operating on a loose definition of "words" as the actual messages they express, the works within
The Sienese Shredder collectively reflect Chaix's principle. She illustrates by narration alone the flexibility of language as universal enough to transcend convention, while John Ashbery and Jane Hammond manipulate images and scarce text in order to conceptually test the limits of this flexibility.

While most of the book's entries challenge my rejection of language as mere iconology, poets Jane Hammond, Ron Padgett and Chris Edgar reinforce it. I inherently classify poetry, however narrowly, as an art most heavily dependent on its language -- the way they're arranged on the page or stressed vocally. I suppose more innovative means of presenting a poetic idea or story allow for a wider range of interpretations (and isn't personalized catharsis art's goal?)... but visual poetry like Ashbery's and Hammond's, when presented alongside more conventional free verse poems, seem to contain messages too far removed from the artist's original emotional intent.

Strange, Strange Sienese Shredder

I found “The Sienese Shredder” to be a strange accumulation of essays on life and art, artwork, poetry and prose that investigates (and, in my opinion, pushes the boundaries of) what justifies poetry as such. The bizarre text definitely provides an interesting, enjoyable read, but I feel that the authors sometimes take their exploration of the ridiculous a bit too intensely. For example, Jess’s “Oesap’s Faebles” seemingly random capitalizations and peculiar, multi-directional storyline seemed to subtract from the overall piece, rather than add the surreal nonsensicality which seemed to be the goal. This theme of absurdity to the point of pure silliness reflects a few times throughout the text, although the overall impression portrayed is one of strange yet admirable works.

My favorite piece (besides, of course, our dear Carbo’s :P), is Ron Padgett’s “The Absolutely Huge and Incredible Injustice in the World,” a nouveau work humorously outlining the irony of the unjust and inescapable disposition of mankind. He juxtaposes genuine inquiries and proclamations of human nature, such as “What makes us so mean?,” “It is hard not to be appalled by existence,” and “Life is so awful!” with amusing images of gorillas, hippos, and other oddities, overly dramatic ejaculations, and arbitrary tangents. In doing so, Padgett quite effectively lends a sense of outlandish humor to what could have been a drearily serious work.

Another choice example is, in my opinion, Harry Mathews’s “Romantic Poem,” which, barring the title, would not leave any notion of romantics. I enjoy how the title adds a new dimension to the poem and forces the reader to search for hidden meanings between lines.

All that said, I totally want to kidnap the puppy pictured on the postcard on page 144. How cute can you get? :)

I have a face that stays mostly on the front of my head

The title to this post is a line from a Ron Padgett poem, but I'm going to talk about John Ashbery right now. Ashbery's contribution really made visual poetry "click" for me. Being acquainted with his more traditional "lines on paper" poetry, I saw the same voice and sentiment revealed in both mediums: eclectic pop culture references, whimsy/irreverence, interrelating the high and low and most importantly a real aesthetic beauty. It is even arguable that Ashbery's lack of narrative "I" and audience in much of his verse really comes through in these visual works as well. As postcards, they are meant to be delivered. Ashbery stunts that ritual by manipulating the message (with his collage) and betraying the audience (by not sending them).

film poem by vispo class

The New Crustacean

Among the pieces selected for The Sienese Shredder, I found “The New Crustacean” to be the most fascinating. Kreg Hasegawa’s short story is riddled with holes, each of which is so surrounded by familiar constructions that the reader easily creates possibilities that might fill the vacancies. The execution (this from a student in contemporary academia) is hardly unsettling, in large part because it is presented in a warm tone and with a near flippancy in regard the narrator’s choices of omissions. Commentary is made on the way stories are told – not just in regard to literature, but to the quotidian recollection of a days and weeks, and to the subjects of language which need not be specific to function.

A warning is offered right at the offset that concrete subjects will be problematic throughout the text. The narrator states that he (“a father, a brother, a lover, a friend”) cannot tell about himself because “you’d only be further from the truth.” He sets up the technique that will dominate the rest of the text by stating that he is “determined entirely by context.” The reader learns that he has a family, a past, and at the end he hitches a ride toward an indeterminate future, but the details are not offered. In one instance, no circumstances are disclosed of an event which overtakes the narrator with nausea and pain. All that exists are the peripheries and consequences, and the reader is left to imagine endless possibilities that could assume the event.

The most striking example of this occurs when the narrator prepares himself to return to the site of a family camping trip. The site is not described, but simply by its being an attraction because of its lake, vivid images which must differ from reader to reader cascade through its absence. The same is true of whatever objects a clerk at the “large store” advises the narrator to bring along. He sheepishly purchases four of something we can almost picture clearly: fishing lures, boots, ponchos, meals-ready-to-eat, rifles, snake bite kits, compasses, styrofoam floaties, etc.

The commentary on how stories can exist with such absences suggests that ingrained in readers are types of narrative frameworks which stand nearly by themselves. In reflecting on “The New Crustacean,” it is hard not to think of Saussure and the structures of difference which make language possible. Per the theory of his successors, these structures stand as well without centers. By constructing walls such as the one where Hasegawa’s narrator purchases the unnamed supplies, the author creates empty spaces for images, the specificity of which are unimportant.

Cool

I think that if we firstly understand Sienese Shredder firstly a book of poetry and poets, it's easier to understand the ultimate task. Included are John Ashberry, Ron Padgett, William Corbett (who I am assuming is a relation of Edward Corbett), and Richard Tuttle locates it very much within the "New York School" of poets. Furthermore including works by Larry Fagin, who has produced a book of poems illustrated by Tuttle, and who has worked closely with Ron Padgett in Brooklynn further locates much of the contributors in and around New York.
Yet the books seems focused not on compartmentalizing or particularizing these contributors as much as it wishes to reveal their coalescence, discussion, and interest in one another.
It seems that Sienese Shredder is interested in poetry that is infested in and contributing to the world of visual arts, as well as revealing the sort of inverted or surprising discussions of art--such as the interview by Judith Stein wherein Richard Tuttle is interviewed about an art dealer. Instead of reading about the artist (Tuttle) we're reading a behind the scenes; stories about the people to whom the art is made collectible. Suddenly the person supporting art is given representation.
I also thought it was also interesting that the book was edited by two painters—Brice Brown & Trevor Winkfield. Furthermore, Sienese Shredder includes visual peices by John Ashbery. His long interest in Dada and Surrealism as well as his proliferation of art & poetic critique are no where to be found, instead we get only images he's produced.
It seems to be a re-examination and perhaps a revitalizationg of the New York School, the practices and interests of this school, and the ongoing transformation and transmutation of experimental poetry within art and aesthetic practices more generally.

Also, I was also thinking about the title and this is what I came up with:

Sienese = Sienna – during the 14th and 13th centuries was the center of a flourishing school of art
Shredder = a machine or other device used for shredding something.

So, yeah, I think that is an appropriate title.

Sienese Shredder as kooky

I find this collection an interesting and odd collaboration of new and old material. There seem to be lots of pieces rediscovering and reinterpreting older obscure art and literary works. The collection seems to have the goal of mining the past for rarities as well as exploring emerging works. The piece on Nadleman’s Standing Nude was one example of this examination of a piece I would not expect to see in a collection of contemporary. It was interesting to see it examined from a fresh perspective. The breath of material included this book was a bit disorienting to me but its range held my interest.
One piece I was especially interested in was Francis M. Naumann's attempt at solving Marcel Duchamp's unsolvable chess problem Opposition and Sister Squares are Reconciled [1932]. (It’s weird to think of Duchamp taking a hiatus from art to practicing his extreme chess master skills.) I looked the nature of this essay up on the internet and it said: Opposition and Sister Squares are Reconciled deals with endgame theory in chess specifically analyzing positions in which only kings and pawns remain, including the incredibly rare and even more obscure Lasker-Reichelm position. The Lasker-Reichelm is a position in which both kings are still free to move and white has 4 pawns all blocked – unable to move – by black’s three pawns. Those are all the pieces on the board and – from what I have been able to carefully gather – black can only hope for a draw and, given competent play, can produce one all the time.

I think it’s interesting to explore the process of chess as one would explore the process of art rather than looking to win or solely at the product/piece. This process of creating and the perspectives and possibilities this opens up to the viewer seems to be a prevalent theme in this collection from the Carbo's poem to the ghost weave.

POEMS THAT FLY!

Hmmm.

Humument was certainly very engaging and interesting on the visual level. However, I found the book to be lacking of narrative. The overwhelming emphasis on the visual was somewhat discouraging from my attempts to read the book critically. I generally found no connection between the visual and the words scattered across the artwork. I read through the book patiently, looking for any signs of narrative or ; characters, themes. The little I came up with seemed entirely negligible next to the intricate artwork. The swinging, lyrical effect that the arrangement of the words creates, discussed by Misha below, had the potential to create an interesting voice for the speaker, but I generally had trouble identifying a speaker at all.
Sorry.

Narrative, or word Play?

I found "A Humument" to be surprisingly engaging, as traditional forms of peotry are abandoned and rather than meter, rhyme and structure creating a flow to the language, the active pull of the visualization of a complete poem on a scattered page of words is what pulls you through the work. As I was reading the book at first, I observed what seemed to be a poem about the act of making poetry, and then seemed to be about the associations of love with poetry. As I got further and discovered the implication of a narrative, I discovered that what I was reading was the personal expressions of the author on and about the creation of poetry through himself and the character 'toge', who is both the creation of his poetry and also a representation of himself. The narrative, if that's what you can call it, vaguely follows a poetically inclined life through it's ups and downs and the kinds of life experiences thet engendre poetry in the first place. In the style of the epic, each page is a snapshot of a moment, or an experience, or a feeling that could not be expressed. Also much like an epic, as the book moves further on the author brings in other characters who are captured in the midst of their experiences of life in the pages of his book, and every person experiences life differently so he brings new colors and tones into his poetry as he adds new (or old) characters, both in a literary and a perfectly literal sense made possible by the visual execution of the work.
The poetry also makes me curious about the book, as while the poetry does not follow the characters of "A Human Document", it very obviously follows the emotional tone of the book, given the useable repetitions of words that appear in the poetry. The language that we use is part of how one creates a mood in a poem or a book, and the author is using the language that was already available, which leaves me inclined to believe that he read the Victorian novel as it was written and saw the potential for something else hidden in it's pages. The book as it has been presented to us appears to be about the evolution of poetry through life and conversly the expression of life as poetry. "I am sad and so I write poetry, but also I am sad and that in and of itself is poetry", the true poet sees poetry everywhere. It is a poetical expression of life, love, art, the travails of the writer, the pain in the world that makes beauty beautiful, and the fluidity of all things as life and experiences overlap to form systems of ups and downs that our classically trained minds experience as poetry and art. The visual aspect is facinating as he uses it for stops, pauses, tone, and the almost forceful dragging of the reader through the book much as one lyrically trickles through a Frost poem. Given the disconnected and haphazard word placement on the pages, the art is also like a guide, and is the only reason the poetry makes sense.

I quite liked it. It was like a playground for my brain.

Poems That Move Video

Check it out: Here

A Humument

Overall I found this text to present some ccrative approaches to both visual communication and literature. The general arrangement of the words on each space typically curves and jumps around the pages, and the visual connections or bridges drawn between these words contributes to a swinging, lyrical effect in the voice. This was a successful combination of art form and poetry, as one element throughly contributed to the other to produce a cohesive result. Overall the ambiguous and vaguely romantic narrative within A Humument was not the focal point of the text, partly because of the number of pages that diverge from the suggested plot. However, these brief scenes, such as "sixteen portraits.."(page 61) support a more intimate projection of the narrator, or the protagonist to which the voice belongs. Here is also an example where the art evokes dark sense of presence, through the texture and the sinking depth in the imagery, which in turn supports the small point of text in the corner.
As we continue jump to dynamic ideas, the title begins to support the general presence of the text as the reflection fo a human being in all of his scattered details. Yet the visual proves a little distracting in its chaos. On many pages atterns and shapes are haphazardly arranged despite the lack of any visual connection to the poems. Some of the pictures bring to mind the doodles the appear through an anxious state of boredom, or as a means of destraction from the task at hand.
However, Tom Phillips may consciously be undermining man's sincerity that sporaticaly appears through A Humument. This could prove to be a successful literary tool if only the character were defined more or if the images were more consistently adolescent. Overall the scattered visual and poetic elements reveal a dominanting feature in the human conscious with a tone of sarcastic belittlement, to me.

The Humument

As far as issues of narrative within The Humument go, there seems to be a very vague narrative, or at least a series of connected ideas. While there are a few characters that pop in and out of the book and each page has some bearing on the ones before and after it, there isn’t what could be traditionally considered a story. This, in part, is where it seems to be most poetic. The abstraction of the narrative and the events happening in whatever narrative there is can be attributed to The Humument’s poetics.

Also of note is the attention given to The Humument’s visual component. The visuals on each page seem to be more carefully considered than any of the traditionally poetic elements of it (i.e. word choice). This brings up concerns over the correlation of any visual element of a page to the particular words chosen to be singled on the page. The visuals on each page are notably distinct from the visuals on the other pages and seem to be set up to distinctly relate to the words chosen on the particular page. For instance, a page in which abstract art is mentioned, a representation of abstract art is presented on the page.

Notable is page 73 on which there appears to be relatively no visual element to the poetics of the page, although if one looks close, Tom Phillips has cut up and mixed up words to describe a particular sex scene and make a lot of sex jokes. Within the context of the work as a whole, this seems to work really well since it draws attention to itself as a piece of text rather than having a very important visual element to it. When one reads the actual text on the page, it’s really funny with various “ughs” inserted throughout the text and words cut up to be assembled into the words “cock tease”. Since the actual text on the page is meant to be considered as a whole, the choice to not include any immediately visible visual manipulation seems to be a wise one.