Monday, November 27, 2006

the job of an artist is, at its most basic, a simple act of (as raymond carver put it) bringing the news from my world to yours. for many reasons we are all then able to find some sort of comfort in the fact that the world is seen by others as similar to or related to our own. we have a community of at least one other. i am reminded of this because we are now entering the gauntlet of the christmas holidays and this is a particular time of year when i see a world around me that seems very different from my own. i feel that i am beeing carried along by a large wave of crass christmas commercialism that is dictated by the markeplace to the tune of "little drummer boy". and every year i am visited by the brilliance of the film 'brazil'. there is a sequence in the film where a character is attacked in a mall and overcome by bits of christmas wrapping that are floating along the street. i am buoyed up by this image every year. i remember it and it gives me a small comfort that though it may seem it sometimes i am never really entirely alone.

in an unrelated story, a good one for the world full of wonder category, has anyone else seen this story about an elephant recognizing himself in a mirror. such great interesting creatures (social sophistication, funerals etc.) even before this latest news.

11 comments:

Brian Smith McCallum said...

EA,

You have inspired me to watch Brazil. I'm hoping that that I've got the right flick - - the De Niro film from mid-'80s: http://imdb.com/title/tt0088846/.
Your description of the mall scene is potent. I'm always on the lookout for good movies . . . random thought . . . The Sweet Hereafter is an excellent piece.

I find that Christmas is the most stressful time of the year for me, and I dread it. Such a different vibe for me than Thanksgiving.

I was not aware of elephants' self-awareness until you pointed it out. I know that my cats don't recognize themselves when I hold them up to the mirror.

andy said...

I love this time of year. I look forward to it. I love hanging out with friends and family at home. Its wonderful and I'm real lucky.

I always wondered about that mirror thing too, I pick up my poodle dog and cats sometimes and hold them up to mirrors and they just have no idea whats going on..
take care eric

ddz said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Dani Tull said...

chris, it's a Terry Gilliam film, no r. de niro in it. i haven’t seen it in years but i recall the scraps of paper being loose pages of newspaper that attach to our protagonist and eventually consume him. but eric is right, it was christmas time and depicted just as commercially wrought and buzzingly dogmatic as our own holidayzzz... Bah-cheers.

Dani Tull said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Dani Tull said...

ah, di niro was in it, you have the correct imdb.

-ea. said...

yes chris de niro is in there. and he is playing one of the other brilliant ideas. a swashbuckling renegade electrician (?) maybe.

but big yes on the sweet hereafter. keeps me sitting through atom egoyan movies hoping that they will be anything like sweet hereafter. such a great film.

Brian Smith McCallum said...

Thanks for the info Dani Tull. By the way, I checked out your Website: http://www.danitull.com/. Your background (educational, experience, etc.) is impressive as are your creations.

Anonymous said...

On the subject of an artist bringing his/her world to yours, I recommend that those of you in the L.A. area catch Crispin Glover's presentation of his "Big Slide Show" (featuring selections from his writings) and his feature film "What Is It?". Limit-pushing stuff and in-line with the most adventurous auteurs. December 8, 9 and 10 at the Egyptian Theater.

Dani Tull said...

many thanks chris, i appreciate your comment.
it’s great that eric is doing this blog. i was lucky enough to spend a few years working with him (plbr) and truly enjoyed the diversity of his intellect, his hunger for deeper comprehension, and his humor. most days at the plbr studio would start with eric asking a truly great non-rhetoric question that would lead to the kind of conversations you wouldn’t usually hear in a “rock” bands lair. before I further test his modesty, hats off! hi eric.

Anonymous said...

Interesting stuff. It has been reported that elephants wait on fruit to ferment in order to experience the buzz, but I have not heard of the recognition study. When my boy was young I reas a study about altruism, empathy, and sympathy that included infant to toddlers that had a dot placed on their forehead and then they were placed in front of a mirror. The researchers waited until the child would cease to reach for the mirrors image and begin to reach for their own foreheads. My boy "found himself" at about a year and a half. He's a good kid, so that should be just about right. LOL.

sr